Kingdom Hearts: Anime AU
by Bizcooitz
Summary: "The Battle of Light vs Darkness is taking place in another universe... Manami is chosen by the Keyblade and is accompanied by Edward and Alphonse Elric, and together they journey to worlds, combating the threat of the darkness, while also trying find Manami's best friend, Kai. (Kingdom Hearts, but original characters that visit Anime worlds instead of Disney!)
1. Chapter 1

_Manami opened her eyes and found herself in a strange place. How did she even get here? It was slowly coming back to her…_

_She was with her best friend, but for whatever reason now she couldn't remember his name or what he looked like. The world had suddenly turned upside down— literally. She began to fall, but instead of falling down to the ground, she fell upwards towards the sky._

_She now found herself standing within the clouds, with a shining bright sun in the distance. Manami tried to make sense of how she got here, and how she would get down… but then, an unfamiliar voice spoke._

"_**So much to do… so little time."**_

"_..?" Manami looked around, wondering where the voice came from. She seemed to be the only one here._

"_**Take your time. Don't be afraid."**_

"_I'm not…"_

"_**The door is still shut."**_

"_Huh?" Manami looked around again. "What door?"_

"_**Step forward. Can you do it?"**_

"…" _Manami looked down to where her feet would be— but she couldn't see them past the clouds. She hesitantly lifted a foot and extended it out._

_The moment her foot touched the "ground", the clouds around her dissipated, revealing a mirror-like "floor" that reflected the sky around her._

"_Whoa..!"_

_Now that she knew she was on some kind of surface, Manami slowly took a few more steps forward, but then stopped once more._

_Where could she even go? There was nothing— or no one— here._

_She suddenly felt rumbles under her feet, making her stumble. She looked over to see something appear nearby, looking as though it rose from under the reflective surface._

"_**Power sleeps within you..."**_

_Manami felt rumbles again and looked the opposite way to see a similar shape rise._

"_**If you give it form…"**_

_And a third shape rose in front of her._

"_**It will give you strength."**_

_Manami noticed that these things around her were like pedestals, and different weapons floated above each of them. A sword, a shield, and a staff. She slowly approached each pedestal to inspect the weapons, as well as read the plaques on the pedestals…_

"_The power of the warrior. Invincible courage. A sword of terrible destruction."_

"_The power of the guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all."_

"_The power of the mystic. Inner strength. A staff of wonder and ruin."_

"_**Choose wisely."**_

_Manami once again looked around to find the source of the voice, but to no avail. It seemed that the only way things would progress was to choose a weapon._

_She looked at each weapon once more, but quickly decided to approach the sword and grab it by the hilt._

_After all, the sword was what she always chose in the video game RPG's she played._

"_**Your path has been set."**_

_Manami watched as the pedestals sunk back under the surface, but noticed something dark nearby… it looked like a shadow, but who would it belong to if she was the only one here?_

"_**There will be times where you have to fight."**_

"_Huh?" Manami gasped when she noticed the shadow rise and take form. It looked almost like an overgrown insect, with long antennae and buggy yellow eyes… except that they were glowing. She took a step back when the creature slowly started to approach her._

"_**Keep your light burning strong."**_

_The monster suddenly lunged at her, and Manami instinctively swung the sword in her hand in an attempt to block it. While she failed to block, she successfully slashed it and it dissipated._

_But Manami quickly turned to see another shadow emerging from behind her._

"_Gah?!" She quickly jumped back and slashed at it, effectively destroying it. She looked all around, keeping her battle position, until she noticed a door appear behind her._

"_**The day you will open the door is both far off and very near."**_

"_..?" Manami slowly approached the door, reaching with her free hand to touch it._

"_You mean this door..?"_

_But, before she could touch it, the door cracked open on its own, revealing a bright light that was so intense that she had to close her eyes._

_When she opened them, she was no longer in the middle of the sky. This place was now familiar, she recognized the cityscape of her hometown, as well as the pier where she and her best friend— whose name she still couldn't remember fully right now— would often hang out._

_Except she was far beyond the pier, standing atop the ocean water. How was this possible?!_

_Though, when she looked out the opposite way from the pier, she could see the sun about to touch the horizon. It was about to set…_

"_**The closer you get to light, the greater your shadow becomes."**_

_Suddenly, as the sun finally dipped under the horizon, the ocean turned a murky dark black. Something began to emerge from the water, and Manami got her sword ready. She expected one of those little insect-like shadows again, but was surprised to see the monster getting bigger… and bigger…_

_Until it stood over twenty feet taller than she was._

"_**Don't be afraid."**_

_Manami somehow found comfort in those words and went to charge at the giant monster. She slashed at it's legs, and even managed to climb it's arms and attack it's face._

"_**You hold the mightiest weapon of all."**_

"_HA!" Manami slashed again into the monster's face, before it suddenly shook her off, grabbing her and slamming her down to the ground._

"_!" Under her, she could feel the dark ocean water. It was shiveringly cold, and she could feel herself slowly sumberging. She struggled to break free of the monster's grip, but to no avail._

_The water covered her mouth and nose, and she struggled for air… then struggled for consciousness._

_As she blacked out, she heard the voice speak one more time…_

"_**Don't forget… you are the one who will open the door."**_

* * *

"GAH!"

Manami shot straight up, panting heavily like she had just been saved from drowning at the last possible moment. At her bedside, her cell phone was ringing, vibrating harshly on the wooden surface that was her nightstand.

With one hand, Manami went to reach for her phone, while reaching with the other to hold her chest as she caught her breath.

"H-Hello...?"

"Manami!" She recognized the voice immediately. It was her best friend, His name rung crystal clear in her mind: Kai.

"Where are you?" He asked, worriedly. "I thought you'd be at the carnival today! Is everything okay? Was there an emergency? You're not sick, are you?"

At that moment, Manami looked to the digital clock on her nightstand to see that she was waking up almost an hour and a half after she was supposed to.

"U-Uh... I'm _actually_ almost there!" Manami lied, jumping up from bed and quickly reaching for the first clothes she could find on the floor and changing into them.

On the other end of the line, she could hear Kai take a sigh of relief. He was standing just outside the carnival.

"Alright, good." He said, sounding relieved. "For a second I thought maybe you were under the weather. I don't think I'd be able to enjoy the summer carnival without you around. We were BOTH looking forward to it after all. Especially since they got some new stuff we gotta check out!"

Manami had taken that time of Kai talking to brush her teeth. She went to run towards the front door, grabbing her wallet and phone charger that she had left for herself on the side table.

Manami bolted out the door and dashed down the road. She lived in a city, but it was right on the coast. While running down to the pier, where they held the annual summer carnival, she ran parallel to the shoreline.

Manami was a fourteen year old girl with brown hair that grew down not even an inch past her shoulders, and she also had matching brown eyes. She primarily enjoyed playing video games and hanging out with her best friend, Kai. She was a fairly laid-back person, but was always one to speak her mind when the necessary times arose.

"Don't worry about me, Kai. I'm feeling great!" She assured her best friend.

Despite her saying this, Kai could hear her audibly panting from the other side of the line.

"Well, if you say so…" He hummed. "You are breathing a little heavy there. Well, I made sure to pay for admission for two, so I already got you covered!"

"Aww, Kai! Thank yo— WHOA!"

**HONK!**

Manami had gone to cross the road without looking, and was only a few inches from being getting hit by a car. She waved with her free hand while wearing a sheepish grin, though she didn't really have time to stop and apologize and kept running.

"Breathing heavy?" Manami said to Kai. "Your service choppy? I'm fine!"

She turned a corner and could see the carnival in the distance. She ran for the entrance, where she could see Kai up ahead.

"Really?" Kai asked. "It's something on my end? Strange... well, either way I'm not going anywhere. Hopefully I'm some place you can see me."

"_Yup, I can see you!"_ Manami thought to herself, as she ran to approach him from behind. She skidded to a stop right next to him.

"I'M HERE!"

Kai turned his head to see his best friend, sweaty and absolutely panting. He wasn't going to say anything, but… then he saw her bed head.

She forgot to brush her hair.

"..." Kai sighed, going to hang up his phone. "You overslept, didn't you?"

"What? NO!" Manami put her hands on her hips. "What makes you say that?!"

"... I don't mean to alarm you, buuuuut…." Kai pointed to his hair, meaning that she needed to look at her own.

"..?" Manami quickly pulled out her cell phone to turn on the front facing camera and look at herself. It was incredibly obvious that she didn't brush her hair.

"..." Manami put the phone back in her pocket, wearing a straight face. "It appears that I didn't brush my hair during the several hours I was _definitely_ awake."

Kai smiled nervously. "Well, good thing I have a brush in my bag for such an occasion, but let's get inside first."

The two friends approached a ticket taker and handed him their tickets. After getting a weird look from the ticket taker and walking inside, Kai went through his bag to find the hairbrush and hand it to Manami.

"Thanks…" Manami gave him a sheepish smile and went to brush her hair.

Kai and Manami met in pre-school, and were best friends since. Kai had jet black hair, and eyes that were a similar brown to Manami's. Standing two inches shorter than Manami, Kai was a much more soft spoken, timid, and gentle person than.

His strengths were on the inside, with his smartness and kind nature. On the outside, he appeared frail and sometimes weak in comparison to Manami— and he was often bullied because of it.

Thankfully, he had Manami, who would always fend off any threats.

Manami looked around, seeing the hustle and bustle of the festivities. It definitely looked like there were more stands at this year's carnival, which meant only one thing— more stuff to do!

After Manami finished brushing her hair and handed the brush back to Kai, they walked down the first line of stands, playing games along the way.

They stopped at a stand that had a ring toss, but Manami noticed that Kai was looking at the prizes. In particular, he was looking at a necklace.

It was a bright green crystal, shaped like a crescent-moon. Next to it was a matching crystal necklace, but this one was blue, in the shape of a star.

"You kids wanna toss some rings?" The attendant at the stand asked, gesturing to the different colored bottles.

The outer bottles were green, then the inner bottles were yellow. In the center, there was a single red bottle.

"Sure!" Manami answered, and the attendant handed her some tossing rings.

"Which one do I gotta land for a necklace?" She asked, pointing specifically to the necklace Kai was looking at.

Kai looked between her and the necklace. Did she want the same necklace that he wanted..? He would've let her have it, of course, but… he couldn't help but feel a little bad because he wanted it, too.

"The yellow bottles, or the center red bottle." The stand attendant replied to Manami.

"Pretty tough to land 'em."

"I got this!" Manami said confidently, going to toss her first ring. It bounced immediately off the rim of a yellow bottle and fell to the side.

"... okay, for real this time!"

She threw another ring, and missed. She ended up tossing all of her rings, missing each and every one... terribly.

"..."

"Sorry, miss."

Kai stepped forward to pat Manami on the shoulder. "I-It's okay Manami! Maybe I can try? I mean, it can't hurt, right?"

He then looked to the stand attendant and cleared his throat.

"Can I have a go?"

"Sure thing, kid! Have all the tries 'ya like!" The attendant said, handing Kai several rings.

Kai took a moment to mentally prepare himself as he looked over the bottles. He then went to throw his first ring, and missed. He tried throwing several more and missed each and every one.

"..." Kai started getting embarrassed and frantic, only thinking about Manami witnessing him fail over and over, despite that he _also_ watched her fail at throwing the rings.

He let out a small whine before closing his eyes and throwing the last ring in his hand, and…

CLING!

He opened his eyes, to see that the ring was not only on a bottle, but… it was on the red bottle in the very center.

Kai stared at the ring, his eyes growing wide. "E-Eh? I... I did it?"

He jumped when he heard Manami squeal and was suddenly taken by the shoulders.

"You didn't just do it, you got the HARDEST one!" Manami cried, shaking his shoulders and bouncing in excitement.

The stand attendant chuckled and turned towards the jewelry.

"Winning the prize for the lady?" He said, giving Kai a small smirk.

"W-What do you mean?" Kai smiled, his cheeks turning a small shade of pink.

"I mean, if she wants it, I have no problem with it. Really!"

Manami shot a glance to Kai, her brow raised. She wanted to win the necklace because _he_ wanted it, not her…

"Well, since you got the center ring, I'll hook you both up with a prize. How's that?"

"Really?!" Manami gasped as the attendant grabbed up both the moon and star necklaces, and went to dangle them in front of the kids.

Manami reached first and, to Kai's surprise, took the blue star necklace. She went to put it on, then noticed that Kai was looking at her.

"... something wrong?" She asked, suppressing a grin that would've given away her intention of letting him have the necklace that he wanted.

"N-No! Of course not!" Kai quickly assured her. "Um... I'll be taking this one. Thanks!"

Kai took the moon necklace and put it around his neck. He looked down at the sparkling green crystal, looking quite pleased with himself.

Manami couldn't help but smile at his expression, and they thanked the attendant as they walked away. They didn't walk far before Manami caught a whiff of barbecue.

"You hungry?" She asked. "I am."

"Yeah, I can eat! That barbecue does smell good." Kai replied with a grin. "Maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to find a churro cannoli stand. Those things are rare!"

* * *

Manami and Kai had gotten their food and went to sit at their favorite spot: the pier. Whenever they could, they liked to sit here together and watch the sun set, usually while eating ice cream or popsicles.

Today, they ate kabobs— and to Kai's enjoyment, there was a stand that sold churro cannolis, too.

After eating their kabobs, Kai was eating his sweet treat while Manami was holding her star necklace up as the sun was about to start setting.

"I love the way this crystal sparkles when you hold it up to the light!" Manami said, grinning as she admired the beauty of the shining crystal.

Kai gave a nod, only able to hum in agreement since his mouth was full. He swallowed as quick as he could so that he could respond.

"I know! Aren't they great?" He grinned at her. "These kinds of accessories are simple, but they're striking and go with everything. Plus the fact that ours kind match is a nice bonus."

Manami scoffed. "We WOULD be best friends for almost a decade and just now get matching necklaces."

'Yeah, I know!" Kai laughed. "A lot of other people I knew have came and went over the years but... you're the only one who never drifted from me."

Kai took another bite of his churro cannoli and then noticed that Manami had gotten quiet. He looked over to see her looking out to the sunset, looking lost in thought.

"Something wrong, Manami?" He asked, after swallowing his bite.

"... no," Manami forced a smile to him. "It's just…"

She seemed to be having trouble finding her words, and looked back out to the sunset again.

"Every year, I always have a little bit of dread because the carnival is always on the last day of summer. We always have to go back to school the next day. But... I mean, remember how nervous we were when we were leaving elementary school and getting ready to go to junior high? And now we're starting high school tomorrow…"

"Oh yeah…" Kai nodded. "I won't lie, I'm nervous too."

There was a pause before he spoke again.

"But hey, it can't be that different, right?" He asked her. "Besides, we're still going to the same school together... It's not so bad, right?"

Manami thought about that for a moment. "Yeah... you're right." She smiled, feeling a little better. She then looked down to the crystal star in her palm.

"Let's make a promise…" She looked up at him. "That we'll always be friends. That, even when we grow up, we won't grow apart."

Manami smiled as she held up her necklace to the sunlight once again. "These necklaces will be the symbol of that promise!"

"Really?" Kai asked, going to hold up his moon necklace next to hers so that he can also see it glisten in the sunlight.

"..." He smiled, feeling his eyes water a little. "I'd actually really like that."

He looked over to her, still smiling. 'You're my best friend, Manami. And... it would be an honor if I could stay yours, no matter where life takes us."

Manami smiled from ear to ear after he said that, and she used the arm that wasn't holding the necklace up to wrap around his neck and give him a tight hug, almost making him drop his cannoli.

"Alright…" Manami said. "Then it's a promise! Best friends 'till the end!"

"Mm!" Kai nodded, also using his free arm to wrap around Manami's shoulders and hug her back.

"Best friends 'till the end, Manami!"

* * *

After watching the sun set, Manami and Kai returned to the festivities. Nearby, they could see a stand displaying a bunch of trinkets and oddities. In front of it there stood a tall boy with wavy blonde hair that covered one of his eyes.

Just as Manami was looking at him, he turned his head and his grey eyes met her chocolate ones. He gave her a gentle smile, which made her cheeks burn for a reason she wasn't entirely sure about.

The blonde boy approached the two of them. "Hey now... from your necklace I can see that you're a lady with very sophisticated tastes! Perhaps you'd like to see our traveling antique shop…" He gestured behind him.

"Treasures and knick-knacks from distant lands that the world has never seen. You might find something you like."

Before Manami or Kai could respond, a shorter boy with matching blond hair and a strange green fusion of a headband and hat peeked out from behind. He looked just a bit nervous, as if he was trying to put a smiling act on.

"Just letting you know that the items behind glass aren't for sale... not yet anyway." He said, softly. "Those are for an auction we're holding later on... but you can go see them if you wish!"

The older blonde patted the shorter on the head. "That's right! You best go see those marvels while they're on display now. If you have any questions, my name is Russell, and this is my brother, Fletcher."

"..." Kai raised a brow suspiciously. "I don't like this guy... he looks sleaz—"

Just then, an older woman with short strawberry blonde hair stepped out and stood next to everyone at the entrance.

"Oh, hello there handsome!" She greeted Kai. "Maybe you and that friend of yours might be interested in taking a look at our antiques? You know, what we have is so elusive we might as well also be a traveling museum. I'm sure you can find something for that special friend of yours!"

She winked to Kai, who just stood there blushing intently. Unfortunately for him, he was never been the type to turn down a pretty face.

"WEEEEEELL, when you put it that way... um... maybe we should give this place a little looksee…"

Manami gave him an unamused look. Kai noticed and nervously rubbed the back of his head.

"Who knows, we might um... see something cool?" He said, a little bashful.

Manami rolled her eyes and stepped forward first to go inside and look over the items.

"Distant lands, huh..?" She asked in a whisper, that only Kai could hear. "I highly doubt that…"

"Hey, won't hurt to look!" Kai whispered back to her.

"You were just about to say that the first guy looked sleazy…" Manami said, earning a nervous chuckle from him.

They looked around, and saw that most of the items seemed to be charms, jewelry, and accessories from cultures that looked... very unfamiliar to them.

If anything, they looked more like props from movies and tv shows... or things cosplayers would buy. It all just looked like works of fiction rather than anything from real world countries.

"Huh…" Kai leaned down to look at what looked like an action figure. "Are these from like, old TV shows or something? Who the heck is 'All Might?'"

"Look at this head band," Manami pointed out. "What's the weird swirly logo on the metal part?"

"... what are we even looking at?" Kai asked her.

Manami shrugged, and they went further back to see things that looked like armor and weapons behind glass.

One of the weapons stood out out from the rest. It looked like... a giant key? At least, the blade was a stunning silver, with a key-shaped attachment at the tip. The handle and hand guard were connected as one, square-shaped hilt, shimmering a bright yellow.

"... well... that's... different?" Kai said, as he looked closer at it.

Manami snickered while also looking at it. "I'd hate to have _that_ thing on my key ring. What a BIG door that must open."

"I'm starting to wonder if they made all this stuff themselves…" Kai mumbled. "I really doubt some ancient culture ran around whacking people with giant keys."

"Yeah," Manami agreed, shaking her head. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Yeah…" Kai nodded. "Seriously, this stuff is a bunch of jun—"

Right then, he noticed a tan-skinned girl with long dark brown hair and a tuft of pink hair. She seemed to be upkeeping everything, but she then noticed Manami and Kai.

"Are you enjoying what you're seeing so far?" She asked, smiling kindly.

Kai smiled back in a dopey way as his face went red.

"Why yes! All of these things are absolutely fascinating. You have quite the wonderful collection!"

"Seriously..?" Manami groaned.

"_He's such a sucker when it comes to women…"_

In that moment, another girl stepped out— this one with darker skin and her hair tied in a tight bun at the back of her head. She also seemed to be wearing a large armored gauntlet on her left arm.

"Well, if this stuff is so interesting, then how about getting something?" She asked.

"Actually," Manami interjected. "We were just about to leave—"

"This looks like it would suit you!" The gauntlet girl said over Manami, pulling out a strange ball that was red on top and white on the bottom. When she offered it to Kai, she pressed the button in the middle and it grew in size to fit completely in her palm.

Kai was rendered once again flustered and bashful in the presence of another girl. While he was distracted, Manami felt the urge to look back at that weird key in the display case.

Something about it seemed kind of... compelling.

She stepped up to the glass, getting close enough to read the information just beneath the display case.

"_This Key is said to have magic powers. Only those with strong hearts are worthy to wield it."_

"..." Manami scoffed, shaking her head. This had to be either superstitions from an ancient culture that didn't have science, made up words meant to sell it to gullible people... or both.

"Whatever…"

Manami turned to look at the other weapons on display, but glanced back to notice that the giant key had disappeared!

"Huh..?" She looked around for a moment before realizing... the key was now gripped firmly in her hand!

"?!" Manami almost yelled out in surprise, but caught herself in time. None of the others had noticed this happening yet.

"_Okay, just play it cool…" _She thought. "_I'm just gonna put this back riiiight here…"_

Manami slowly and silently reached to set the key next to the glass casing. Once she set it down, she quickly pulled her hand away from it, like it was infected.

"... phew…" She went to wipe the sweat from her brow, only to realize the key was back in her hand.

"_WHAT THE HELL?!"_

She immediately saw the gauntlet girl look over, and Manami instinctively hid the key behind her back.

"..?" The gauntlet girl raised a brow suspiciously, but didn't seem to notice the key behind her back… but she did notice that the display case was empty.

"What the... HEY! It's gone!"

"H-Huh?" Kai blinked, snapping out of his infatuation with the other girls. "What's gone? Wait, wasn't there something in there just a second ago?"

"Uhh…" Manami began to sweat.

"But that's not possible!" The girl with the pink tuft of hair cried. "Where could it have gone?"

The two girls then went to walk over to Manami, who was shrinking in intimidation.

"Excuse me, but did YOU see where the weapon in this casing went?" The girl with pink hair asked her.

"Did anyone suspicious walk in here? Did you see anyone take it and leave?"

"Wait a sec…" The gauntlet girl then reached behind Manami and pulled out the giant key, making everyone gasp.

"What are you doing with THIS?" She asked with a frown.

Just as Manami opened her mouth to respond, the key disappeared from the girl's hand, and appeared back in Manami's.

Everyone stared at Manami in disbelief.

"What the... Manami, how'd you do that?" Kai asked.

"I don't know!" Manami sputtered. "It just—"

"Never mind!" Kai cut her off. "Just... give it back to them, please!"

"RUSSEL! CLARA!" The girl with pink hair cried. "WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi guys! It's been forever! Truth is, I got in contact with a good friend/roleplay partner of mine, and we decided to revive an old roleplay we had back in the days of old... so now I'm converting it into a fanfiction and posting it here! Seriously, I love this concept so much, and I hope you guys love it too! This one's got TWICE the brainpower going into it, after all!

In regards to the sequel for "The Wind Alchemist," it's coming... eventually! I've admittedly been more buried in this story to work much on the other, but I have full intention to jump back and forth in a more balanced fashion later on... I just need to gush here a little bit more, lol.

Thanks again for reading! It means the world!


	2. Chapter 2

"Wait!" Manami held up her hands. "This makes just as much sense to me as it does to you!"

She then went to offer the key to the girl. "Look, PLEASE take it! I don't know what's going on, but I _don't_ want this!"

"Rose? Paninya?" They all heard Russell call, and they could hear footsteps quickly approaching.

"What's going on? What kind of problem? What's going—"

He stopped the moment he saw the giant key in Manami's hands.

"What the... hey, put that back this instant!" He yelled at her. "That is a valuable antique you're holding!"

"How did she get it anyway?" The strawberry blonde, known as Clara, said from behind him.

"There's no cracks or holes on the glass, and the top is still bolted down so she couldn't have lifted it either. Color me impressed!"

"I swear, this is one big misunderstanding!" Kai insisted. "M-Manami would never steal!"

He then looked back to her. "J-Just give it back to them, okay?"

"I'm _trying!_" Manami snapped. "But when I do… well, you saw! Let me try again..."

Manami offered the key to Rose, who cautiously reached to take it… but the moment it was completely out of Manami's hands, the poofed into glittery sparkles and back into Manami's hand once again.

"... GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Kai cried.

"Well, that's different... hmm…" Russell went to put a hand on his chin, before a smirk curled on his lips.

"I bet you think you're clever, huh? You got caught red handed, and now you're just playing dumb, now that you've been caught."

"Wh-What..?" Manami gasped.

"I've done that before, little lady, and I gotta say while it's cute at first, it normally doesn't end well in the long run. I will say though... I'm quite curious how you pulled it off."

"But I didn't— HEY!"

At that moment, Clara and Paninya both restrained Manami by each taking one of her arms. They couldn't take the key from her, but they could keep her from moving.

"Wait! Please don't hurt her!" Kai pleaded. "She didn't mean it! I-I think she's just as confused as the rest of us! Please, restrain me instead!"

"... why do I have a feeling you'd actually like that?" Paninya asked, frowning in disgust.

"What boy his age wouldn't like being manhandled by a pair of gorgeous girls like us?" Clara gave the boy a wink, which made him chuckle bashfully once again.

"Ugh… not the time, Clara." Paninya groaned.

"Not the time either, _Kai._" Manami frowned at Kai, who bowed his head apologetically.

"Okay, listen," She looked to Paninya and Clara, who were still holding her arms tightly. "I'm not resisting because I see how this looks from your perspective. I get it."

Manami went to take a deep breath. She then met eyes with Russell, her expression serious.

"But I'm not playing dumb!" She insisted. "If I were really trying to steal this thing, wouldn't I be trying to run with it?"

"Quite the contrary my dear." Clara chimed in. "A true thief would try to win our trust and then make a sneaky escape. Takes a thief to know one."

Clara gave her a wink, but Manami growled in frustration.

"Or what if YOU are putting some weird voodoo curses on these things to force them on innocent people and frame them for thievery?!" She barked, now getting impatient.

"What I _want_, more than _anything_ at this moment, is to give you back this stupid thing so I can get back to the carnival with my friend! We didn't even want to go in here in the first place!"

"..." Paninya shot Kai a glance. "I beg to differ."

Manami rolled her eyes, suppressing a growl.

"Well," Russell stepped forward. "There's only one thing left to do now... Rose, if you please?"

"Huh?" Manami looked to Rose as she nodded and stepped in front of Manami. Paninya forcefully moved Manami's free hand up to Rose.

"Ouch!" Manami yelped. "Wait, what are you—"

She watched nervously as Rose gently took her hand. With the way she held it, she looked like she was going to read her palm…

Rose closed her eyes, and...

FLASH!

Rose suddenly fell backwards. Thankfully, Russell managed to catch her before she landed on the ground.

"Whoa!" He said as he caught her. "Rose! Are you alright?! What happened?!"

"Rose!" Paninya cried, suddenly getting angry. She gripped Manami's arm tightly and twisted it behind her back.

"OW!"

"Manami!" Kai cried.

"What did you DO to her?" Paninya snarled.

"I-I don't know!" Manami said through gritted teeth. "I didn't do anything!"

"Ugh... I'm okay…" Rose finally spoke, holding her head. She seemed dizzy.

"I'm not hurt, really." She said, much to everyone's relief.

"I saw light... a glorious light, but it was also intense. I couldn't make anything out."

"What..?" Manami asked. "What does that even mean?!"

Kai stood there with his mouth hanging open, unable to think of what to do or say.

Russell looked back up at Manami with a stern look on his face. "... Fletcher! CALL SECURITY!"

"WHAT?!" Manami cried.

"W-Wait!" Kai protested. "Can't we just—"

* * *

**CLANG!**

Manami groaned as she plopped down on her butt in a holding cell. Meanwhile, Kai was at the other side of the bars, on his knees, and groveling at the feet of the security guard.

"Please forgive Manami! She didn't mean it, honest!" He pleaded.

"She literally can't get rid of it! It's cursed or something! Please let her go, I promise we'll never come here again. Even if you slap us with a lifetime ban, that'll be fine as long as you let Manami go—"

"BE QUIET YOU LITTLE BRAT!" The security guard roared at him. "You're giving me a headache! Look, your friend's not going to jail or anything. But she needs to remain here until we sort this out. Now then…"

The security guard exited the room, leaving Kai and Manami alone. There was no hope of escaping either, since the guard left with the key.

"Wonderful…" Manami groaned. "Best carnival ever."

"I'm so sorry…" Kai apologized.

Manami let out a sigh. "It's not your fault… thanks for trying anyway."

She pouted for a moment, staring at the key that was still in her hand and resting in her lap. She reflected on everything that's happened, and tried to think of what to do next.

"... do me a favor and Moogle how a high schooler could get a lawyer to sue shady carnival vendors." She muttered.

"I don't know if you have much of a case… at least of what you can prove." Kai said sadly, crossing his arms.

"... well, I mean, I'm already in trouble." Manami shrugged. "Maybe I could bust out and run from the law for the rest of my life…"

She looked up to see Kai looking at her with a petrified expression.

"I'M KIDDING!" She quickly sputtered. "You know I wouldn't do that!"

"I know, but... this is too much!" Kai said.

"Everything was going fine before this happened. I don't get any of it! Just... don't do something reckless, please!

* * *

~Meanwhile~

* * *

Two people who weren't from this world were wandering about the carnival. People stared at the boy in the red trench coat and suit of armor as they passed, most of them stopping to take pictures on their phones.

Edward tried to ignore them, but he was getting irritated.

"Geez, of all the days to look for someone, they had to be at a big crowded event…"

At that moment, Ed realized his brother had fallen behind.

"Huh? Al, where'd you go?"

"Smile for the camera, my angels!"

Ed looked back to see a woman taking pictures of her numerous children cluttered around his brother.

"Um, wait... I think there's been a mistake. I don't work here!" Alphonse whined.

Ed stepped in to stop the photoshoot, photobombing the last picture.

"HEY!" He barked. "My brother's not some sideshow attraction for you people to gawk at. If you'll EXCUSE us, we're busy!"

With a glare, the mother left with all of her children. The smallest child gave Al a small wave before he turned to catch up with his family.

"You okay Al?' Ed asked his younger brother. "None of those kids got any snot or anything gross stuck on your armor, right?

"I don't think so…" Al said, looking over himself and finding himself clean.

"You know, despite how distracting that was... it actually feels nice that those kids weren't afraid of me!"

Ed blinked, before smiling at his brother and giving him a playful punch on his metal shoulder.

"Come on, who can possibly be scared of you? You're kindness in a can! Now come on, we're gonna have to start asking questions."

He then approached one of the employees that were in charge of one of the line rides.

"Excuse me! Hey, have you seen something that looks like this?" He went to hold up a picture, but the employee completely ignored it.

"Hey, no cutting in line, kid! Besides... You're too short for this ride anyway."

"..." Ed crumpled the photo in his hand, turning bright red from anger as a vein appears on his forehead.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A HALF GROWN PINT SIZED CHIBIFIED BABY SHRI—"

BONK! Al bonked his older brother on the head with the blunt end of a giant lance that he carried.

"OW! What the heck was that for?"

"Sorry brother, but there's no time for shenanigans…" Al said. "We got a mission to do, and we can't risk anything go wrong. The Colonel is counting on us!"

Al then looked to the carnival employee. "Eheheh... Sorry about bothering you, Mister!"

He then grabbed Ed by the back of his coat and pulled him away. Ed crossed his arms and kept glaring at the employee as he was dragged away.

* * *

~Meanwhile~

* * *

Manami and Kai looked up to see someone coming into the room, and Manami frowned at the sight of Russell.

"Oh boy, you again." Manami spat, going to stand up.

"Sorry, I just had to make sure that you didn't take any of the other antiques. My brother Fletcher and the rest of the girls are taking care of the place now. As for you…"

Russell put his hands in his pockets. "I want to make a little proposition for you... and if you accept, I promise we can sweep this whole thing under the rug!"

"R-Really?" Kai gasped. "You won't press charges or anything? Oh thank goodness!"

He looked to Manami, smilin. "You hear that, Manami? We're gonna be okay!"

Manami wasn't smiling, though. In fact, she crossed her arms and raised a brow suspiciously.

"I'm not jumping to that conclusion just yet."

"..." Russell smirked once again, making Manami's skin crawl. "You don't trust me?"

Manami frowned. "If you're gonna call me a thief, then I'm gonna call you a scammer. Why should I trust you when I'm not getting that same respect?"

"Because I can walk out right now and leave you here in that cell." Russell said simply.

"..." Manami heaved a sigh and shook her head. "What do you want? Money? I'll have you know that I'm a broke teenager."

"I'd be willing to work it off, whatever it is!" Kai offered.

"Oh yeah," Russell looked over to him. "You... Kai, was it? I'm gonna have to ask you to wait outside this room for a minute. The terms of these negotiations will need to be confidential."

"... what?" Kai raised a brow, glancing to Manami for a moment.

"Well... um... erm... fine... But just for a minute!"

He left the room and stood right outside the door. He tried to listen in, but the noise from the outside carnival interfered with how much he could hear.

"Now then, as for my proposal." Russell spoke, once he was sure Kai was outside the room. "It's quite simple really... I want you to join my team!"

"... huh?" Manami blinked.

"I'll even let you be my partner!" Russell said. "It's clear that you're no ordinary girl, and I'm quite interested in how you managed to get that there 'antique.' Skills like yours would definitely come in handy in our line work!"

"..." Manami stared at him for a long moment, not saying anything.

"..." Russell started to feel uncomfortable. "What?"

"Let me get this straight." Manami rubbed her forehead with her free hand. "You accuse me of stealing your sword, put me in a holding cell, and now you want to recruit me to your team?"

"Yeah!" Russell smiled brightly. "Sounds good, right?"

Manami suddenly returned a matching smile to him.

"Oh yeah! Sounds great! I'll join! I'd love to work for you!"

"Really?"

"NO, YOU MORON!" Manami screamed.

"I see what's going on here now! You're luring in women to your stupid scammy shops, and then put them in a position to WORK for you or be LOCKED UP. That's human trafficking!"

"Wh-What?!" Russell gasped.

Manami threw up her hands to wave as she mocked him. "'I'll even let you be my partner!' Like I'm supposed to be HONORED about that?!"

Manami continued, her nostrils flaring and her teeth gritted. "You're not just a scammer— you're a pervert! More importantly, you're a PREDATOR!"

"How dare you—"

"Listen up, pretty boy. You can take your 'proposition' AND your 'antique,'" She went to hold the giant key through the bars.

"And SHOVE IT!"

Russell stared back at Manami, quite surprised by her reaction. After a long moment, he finally took a breath.

"Look... it's not like that." He said quietly. "We honestly thought you were trying to pull a fast one on us, but... after talking it over with the others, it's likely you weren't kidding."

Manami simply glared at him, her silence allowing him to continue.

"I've just literally never seen that 'antique' latch on to some one like it did to you... and the way Rose described what she saw within you, 'a glorious light?' There's definitely something special about you! But…"

He sighed and went to rub the back of his head. "Maybe you just need to think about it..."

While Manami and Russell were talking, Kai suddenly heard some screaming.

"Huh?" He looked over to the haunted house attraction nearby, noticing that people were running out of it in terror.

"_Strange…"_ Kai thought to himself. "_The haunted house is usually pretty corny… maybe they've updated it..?"_

Just then, something strange emerged... a flea-like, shadowy creature that rose from the shadows.

"What..?" Kai's eyes widened as he saw another appear… followed by another... and another... and another.

Suddenly, one of the monsters turned its head, looking directly at Kai with its glowing yellow eyes from the distance.

"U-U-UMMMMMM…" Kai felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand when he met eyes with the creature, and he quickly ran back into the holding room.

Manami and Russell looked up when they noticed Kai barreling in and quickly slamming the door behind him.

"You again?" Russell asked. "Didn't I tell you to wait?"

Manami's brows furrowed at the sight of Kai, who looked absolutely terrified. He then held a finger to his lips.

"... you know what's wrong with him?" Russell crossed his arms.

Manami rolled her eyes at Russell, before speaking in a whisper. "He's telling you to shut up. Take a hint."

She then looked back to Kai and silently mouthed the words, "What's going on?"

Before Kai could respond, they could hear the screams outside the room drawing closer.

Something was wrong…

Suddenly, Manami saw a shadow crawl under the door, and Kai stumbled to the side as the shadow emerged from the floor and took form.

Manami and Russell's eyes widened at the sight of the same shadowy monster that Kai saw outside.

"I-It got in!" Kai cried. "That thing still got in!"

"What is that?!" Manami yelled, trying to open the door to her cell.

"N-No... it can't be!" Russell gasped. "Not again!"

"Again?!" Kai looked to Russell. "So you know what this thing is?!"

"Damn it, there's no time to explain!" Russell gritted his teeth and pulled out what appeared to be a concealed rapier. He swiftly slashed at the lock on Manami's cell, smashing it open.

"Kai, take that friend of yours and get moving!" Russell yelled, shooting one last look at Manami.

"What about you?" Manami asked, stepping out of the cell.

"I'll get back to you on my proposal on a better day!" Russell told her.

"Wait, I don't get it! What's happening?!" Kai cried. "What _is _that thing?!"

The shadow then attacked Russell, but he managed to use his rapier to strike it in between the eyes. But then… more shadows began to materialize.

"?!" Manami noticed that one of the shadows lept up right at Kai, who was too scared to move.

"Kai!" She acted before she thought, and managed to slash at the monster with the giant key and slice it right in half.

As the monster dissipated, Manami and Kai just stared at each other in disbelief.

"M-Manami... you saved me…"

"U-Uh… yeah…" Manami looked down to the key in her hand. "I guess I did…"

"Gah!" Kai shook his head. "We have to get a move on! There's a window right there!"

"Right..!" Manami nodded, and she went to open it.

"Um... Thanks for releasing Manami, Mr. Russell." Kai looked back to the blonde boy, who was still fending off shadows.

"I hope you're still not mad about the—"

His eyes widened at the sight of Russell as he skewered several of the shadows in a row with his rapier.

Just as Manami looked back as well, they both saw one of the shadows ram into Russell's side while another clawed his leg.

"Grah!"

"Russell!" Manami called.

The blonde gritted his teeth from the pain, but he endured it and continued to fight. He looked back at them when he got a break.

"There are more important things to worry about. Just GO! I'll be fine! If I see you guys again, I'll explain everything I know!"

"..." Kai nodded. "G-Got it! We need to bail, Manami!"

Manami was a little hesitant, wanting to hear what he knew, but she quickly decided that he was right: they had to go.

Manami was first to climb out the window, Kai right behind her. After she climbed out, she noticed how different it was outside.

The skies were dark with ominous swirling clouds. The wind was also whipping with strong gusts. It was like a hurricane had appeared out of nowhere and was hitting them.

After Kai made it out the window, Manami grabbed him by the wrist.

"This way!"

She then pulled him and they started to run, her hand still firmly gripped around his wrist. They saw the same monsters everywhere, attacking people and smashing stands that weren't already destroyed or carried away by the harsh winds.

They ran even faster, avoiding the monsters as much as they could. However, it wasn't long until they found themselves surrounded by a group of shadows who cut off their escape.

Manami had no choice but to fight them off.

"Oh no oh no oh no…" Kai whined, his eyes wide. He looked behind them and all around, not seeing any openings. He swallowed nervously, once again too scared to do anything.

**[Mission Prompt: PROTECT KAI!]**

Despite the fact that there were so many shadows surrounding them, most of them seemed to be preoccupied with other things. Only a few of them were moving in at a time, in small groups.

Manami could see a staircase that led up from the pier to the main road and city up ahead— she figured that she could try to clear a path.

She looked down at the giant key in her hands, feeling a little nervous since she wasn't that experienced in swordfighting... but she pushed those feelings of doubt aside— she knew that she had to protect Kai!

"Kai, stay close to me!" She said, getting in a battle-ready stance. She then swung the key and took out a few shadows, making sure to constantly look around and make sure none of the heartless were going near Kai.

Kai was doing his best to keep up with her, but suddenly, one of the shadows crept out from a portal behind his feet and grabbed his ankle with its claw, holding him in place.

"N-NO!" He yelped, then tripped and landed face first into the ground.

"Kai!" Manami quickly turned and plunged the key between the eyes of the shadow before it could fully crawl out of the portal, setting Kai free.

"Are you alright?" She extended her hand to help him up, but right as she pulled him up, one of the shadows attacked her from behind and slashed her on the back.

"Gah!" She winced in pain and swung the key in an attempt to swat it away.

The shadow hopped back like a flea, but Kai could only stand and watch as Manami held back another small group of heartless who were trying to attack attacking.

He couldn't do anything… except stand back while she was left to defend the two of them.

The fact that she got hurt made him feel even worse. His brows furrowed at the sight of the visible wound on the back of her shoulder.

"Manami!" He cried.

"_W-What have I done? She just got hurt protecting me…"_ Kai thought. "_No... NO! Damn it, because of me she's bleeding now! If I keep messing her up... If I keep tripping and falling behind... I might end up getting her killed..!"_

He suddenly had flashbacks to his childhood... his own family often got hurt protecting him, because he was a stupid child who kept putting himself in danger.

His father, his mother, his sister... and even Manami...

All the times Manami went as far as to get into fist fights with bullies after they left him on the ground crying. She once even got one of her teeth knocked out of her mouth. She assured him it was okay, because it was a baby tooth so she could put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy, but... he still always felt terrible.

Holding back his tears, he grabbed a large piece of broken lumber from one of the attractions and swung with it. He didn't land a successful hit, but he did make one of the shadows hop back.

"D-Don't worry about me!" He said to Manami, trying his best to be courageous, but his trembling could be seen and heard in his voice.

"Just focus on protecting yourself! I-I'll follow you no matter what happens!"

Manami opened her mouth to respond, but she saw a shadow coming to attack and slashed it away.

Despite her wound, she didn't seem to be aware that she was hurt or even bleeding— possibly because of the adrenaline. Instead, she was realizing that they were wasting time trying to fight these things... more and more were appearing, and it was seeming less and less likely that they would make it to the stairway.

Manami took a few steps back until she bumped backs with Kai, not aware that she got some blood on his shirt, too. She looked up, seeing the ice cream shop where they normally got popsicles to split and share on the pier. It was the only structure that was sturdy enough to remain standing during this invasion.

"Kai, we have to go up!" She turned her head to look back at him.

Kai was still breathing heavily, but he nodded. Just then, another shadow attacked, but he smacked it away with the piece of wood like a baseball bat. The top half shattered upon impact, but what remained could still be used to defend himself.

"Just lead the way, Manami!"

Manami nodded, and broke out into a run through the shadows, slashing any that threatened to claw at their legs. They surprisingly made it to the ice cream shop, stopping in front of a crate tall enough to help them climb up to the roof.

"You first!" Manami turned to Kai, and before he could protest, she started pushing him to climb up on the crate first.

A shadow leapt up at them, but she managed to slash it in half like she did in the holding cell.

"Keep going!" She yelled to Kai. "I'm right behind you!"

* * *

~Meanwhile~

* * *

"Damn it, it already happened!"

Edward clapped his hands together and transmuted several stone spikes that impale a small group of heartless. Al, meanwhile, slammed his lance into a different group of heartless, knocking them away.

The Elric brothers then started running through the cleared path.

"Brother, what should we do?" Al asked. "There more heartless than we could have anticipated! We need to call for backup!"

"We don't have time to wait for backup." Ed gritted his teeth. "We were sent here to investigate and find signs of a keyblade or keyblade wielder, remember? The mission didn't say anything about it getting this intense! Something stinks."

"Well, we better find them fast, other wise who knows what can happen to them." Al slashed away some heartless with his lance.

"Right!" Ed said, slashing at other heartless with his automail blade. "And with this heartless outbreak, they couldn't have gone far."

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted a stone column beneath both himself and Al, so they could get a better look at the pier down below. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked around while Al kept the heartless climbing the tower at bay.

It wasn't not long until Ed spotted something in the distance...

* * *

~Meanwhile~

* * *

Kai did as Manami told him and climbed up the crate first, before offering his hand and pulling her up. They kept climbing until they were able to get to the top of roof. They took a moment to catch their breaths.

"Now what? Kai asked Manami, who didn't have an answer.

Suddenly, they noticed that the shadows below were starting to stack up on each other like a totem pole, while simultaneously spinning.

They watched in horror as the swarm of shadows grew bigger and bigger, now towering over the ice cream shop and spinning like a tornado.

"_?! Now what?!"_ Manami thought to herself. "_Think Manami… THINK!"_

She gripped the giant key in her hands tightly and got in a battle ready stance, but Kai could see her hands shaking.

"_W-What's going on?"_ He thought. "_Manami... Is she just as scared as I am? No... she can't be. She's the brave one of the two of us!"_

"_But... if she's too scared to do anything... then what does that make me?"_

The spiral of shadows spun towards them and got closer, before it started to tear through the structure they were standing on. It quickly tore the ice cream shop in two, making the halves fall in opposite directions.

"KAI!"

"MANAMI!"

In that instant, Kai and Manami fell in opposite directions, their hands extended towards one another, but being too far away to grab each other's hands...

But, rather than land on the ground, Manami found herself being caught by some one much bigger than herself.

"Got you!" Manami heard an echoey voice, and looked up to see a giant suit of armor.

"Brother, the other one!"

"I know!" Manami saw a blonde boy wearing a trench coat clap his hands, and he touched the ground. A cannon suddenly emerged from the ground under his hands, and it shot with a loud BOOM right at the tower of shadows.

The tower extended a tendril made out of the shadows bunched up together, which acted as a living shield to take the hit. The tendril was blown apart, and the shadows dissipated, but a second tendril extended forth and slammed down on the boy's cannon.

"Grah!" The two boys jumped back with Manami.

Just then, Manami looked up and saw Kai in the distance, lying on the ground. He tried pushing himself up... however, a heavy piece of debris was not only weighing him down, but it seemed that he injured his ankle as well.

Kai gritted his teeth in pain, and looked up to see a tendril heading towards him.

"KAI!" Manami screamed, tying to break out of the armor's grip, but he was much stronger than she was.

"LET ME GO!" She screeched. "HE'S RIGHT THERE! **LET GO!**"

"NO! I can't!" The boy in the armor protested. "You'll get swept in too!"

Kai looked from the corner of his eye and saw the two strangers with Manami... who were they? And where did they come from?

Just then, he was swept up by the tendril. The shadows were gripping and holding his body as they flung him into the air and pulled him into their main body.

Kai tried reaching out for Manami, but he was sucked inside, crying out for her.

"MANAMI!"

"KAI!" Manami tried reaching as well, but with the armor holding her back, she couldn't reach him.

The blonde boy watched Kai, his eyes wide with horror, realizing in that moment that he failed to save him.

"No... What have I…"

He clenched his fists and looked to his brother. He knew that they couldn't dwell on this, or they would be in danger, too.

"AL, RESTRAIN HER! WE NEED TO GO NOW!"

"WHAT?!" Manami shrieked.

"I-I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but…"

The armor suddenly opened his chest plate and forced Manami inside, before closing up. The two boys then started to running away from the tornado, the blonde leading the way.

Kai saw this happen from inside the shadowy tornado, his eyes wide.

"No... They're kidnapping her!" He struggled in the darkness.

"Wait! Stop! MANA—"

Kai was pulled into the tornado and enveloped in darkness before he can scream Manami's name one last time.

"KAI!" Manami screamed, pounding and kicking on the inside of the suit of armor, and with tears streaming down her face.

"LET ME OUT! I SAID **LET ME OUT!**"

In that moment, all she could think about is how she failed to save Kai, and tears started streaming down her face.

"**KAI!"**

The Elric brothers finally arrived at their vessel and ran inside.

"Al, how soon can we launch?!"

"_Huh?!"_ Manami thought. "_Launch?!"_

"I just need a minute!"

Al manned the controls with one hand while holding down his helmet with the other. Ed stepped up to hold the helmet down so his brother could work with both hands.

"Stop banging around in there!" Ed barked.

"**THEN LET ME OUT!**" Manami roared, still pounding on the inside of the armor.

"We're taking off!" The echoey voice announced, reverberating several times around Manami.

"Brother, get strapped in!"

"**NO!**"

**BOOM!**

The engines started, and the gummi ship lifted into the air. Manami looked out through the holes of of the armor to see a sky-view of her home, being destroyed by the tornado of shadows.

Everything… everyone...

**FWOOSH!**

Everything suddenly lurched, and Manami fell back. The last thing she remembered was the back of her head slamming against the cold metal, and everything going black...


	3. Chapter 3

Manami began to stir out of unconsciousness, feeling woozy. It took her quite a bit to fully awaken, but she could hear voices as her blurry vision began to focus.

"And you were certain that her world was completely consumed in such a short amount of time?"

"That's right! Me and Al were almost goners back there! Seriously, Colonel... you need to be on top of these things. We almost died because you left us in the dark!"

"I assure you that what happened was not a result of poor research or lack of foresight. This whole thing was a completely abnormal occurrence. Still, I gotta hand it to you two… not only did you get out of that place in one piece, but you even managed to find both the Keyblade and its wielder."

"Hey, I think she's waking up..!"

Manami's eyes fluttered open... seeing that she was in a white room, like that of a doctor's or nurse's office. She was laying down on a hospital bed. Inside the room are 4 people.

Manami immediately recognized the blonde boy and suit of armor, but not the other two… a man with jet black hair, and a blonde woman, both wearing a blue uniform.

"Um…" The armor leaned over to peer down at her.

"Hello!"

Manami just stared at him, her face twisting into a scowl that looked like a mixture of horror and fury.

"..." The armor shrunk back a little.

"... I don't think she's happy to see us…"

"Well, to be fair…" The blonde boy crossed his arms.

"We did kind of kidnap her…"

"You did WHAT?"

"Explain yourself, Fullmetal!"

"We're sorry!" The armor apologized to not Manami, but the adults in the blue uniform.

"We had to grab her in run before it was too late…"

"We didn't have time to explain things to her." The blonde boy added.

"... I see." The black haired man said, then looked to Manami.

"I am going to have to ask for your cooperation, Miss." He offered a soft, charming smile.

"Don't worry, you're safe here."

"..." Manami started at all of them for a long moment. She suddenly extended out her hand, but… nothing happened.

"...?" Everyone stared back at her, eyebrows raised in confusion.

Manami looked to her open, empty hand. She shook it a few times, as if she was trying to get something to work…

But then suddenly, the giant key appeared in her hand.

Before anyone could ask, Manami quickly swiped it, knocking the helmet off the suit of armor's shoulders and sending it flying across the room.

"GAH! My head!"

Everyone watched as the helmet flew across the room, the armor and blonde boy going to chase after it.

They were all distracted… and, more importantly, the armor was now in between Manami and the others.

Manami quickly jumped out of bed and dashed to the door, before throwing it open and bolting out, still holding the giant key in her other hand.

"Slippery little..!" Roy Mustang gritted his teeth, then looked to Ed.

"Well, what are you waiting for, Full Metal?!"

"Wait, why do I have to... oh fine!" Ed groaned.

"Come on, Al!"

"Right behind you!" Al said as he followed his brother out the door, putting his helmet back on his shoulders.

Manami ran blindly down the halls of Central Command, hoping to find an exit. She shoved by and knocked over several people, including a girl with glasses carrying a tall stack of books.

"WAH!" Sheska fell over, along with her tall stack of books. She emerged from under the books, her glasses lopsided on her face.

Further down the hall, Denny was tripped over and Ross was helping him up. Fuery was bopped to the side and knocked into Breda and Falman, who fell over with him.

"Guess they found the new Keyblade Wielder." Havoc watched the girl continue running down the hall, and couldn't help but grin.

"I guess the Colonel's charm didn't work for once…"

"OUT OF THE WAY!" Ed barked, zooming past Havoc with Al at his heels.

They turned the corner to see Manami running down the hallway. They knew she was approaching a dead end, and Ed was planning to take advantage of the opportunity that was about to rise.

He quickly clapped his hands and slammed them on the ground. The sparks quickly caught up with Manami just as she found herself at a dead end.

"?!" Manami whipped around to backtrack, but before she could move, a bunch of prison bars emerged from all around her... taking the form of a cage, which contained the keyblade wielder.

"No!" Manami raised the key to slam against the bars.

"No, no, no, no, no, NO!" Manami slammed the key with each "no," but with the wound on her back, her throbbing head, and overall exhaustion… she quickly tired herself out.

With one last weak swing at the bars, she dropped the key and fell to her knees, panting harshly.

"Calm down, please..!" The suit of armor whined as he and the blonde boy approached her makeshift prison.

"We're not going to hurt you, honest..! We just want to talk..."

"And don't think I'm going to let you out of there." The blonde frowned and crossed his arms.

"You're gonna hear us out first!"

Manami didn't respond, for she was still panting… and, before could say anything, the two adults in blue uniforms joined the strange boys.

"... I trust you're willing to listen to us now?" The man asked her.

"Not like you have much of a choice, at this point."

Manami glared up at all of them and gritted her teeth. Tears were visible in her eyes, but she refused to let them spill.

"What... do you people _want_ from me..?!" She snarled, after catching her breath.

"Colonel, try to keep it short…" Riza whispered in Roy's ear.

"She's already overwhelmed and confused as it is."

"Right." Roy nodded back to her, before looking back to Manami.

"Well to put it simply; we require your assistance. What happened to your world has and is still happening to numerous other worlds beyond. You're one of the few who can help us stop it."

Manami stared up at him, having no idea what to say.

"We know that's a lot to take in, but trust us. You're very important!" The armor added.

"With you, we can help all kinds of people on all kinds of worlds!

"We were sent to look for that Keyblade of yours and it's wielder, which led us to you." The blonde boy said.

"It just so happens that the Keyblade decided you were worthy to wield it."

"... huh..?" Manami didn't seem to understand.

"Oh yeah, that's right." The armor perked up.

"That thing you have in your hands? You know... what you um, used to knock off my head? It's a Keyblade!"

"_Key… blade..?"_ Manami thought to herself. "_What are these people on?!"_

"Well, I didn't ask for this!" Manami shook her head. "There's been some kind of mistake! I'm not 'worthy' of any of this crap! I'm just a kid!"

Manami reached to pick up the Keyblade, then reach to stick it through the bars and drop it on the other side, at their feet.

"_You_ can take this key-whatever and do what you want! I just want to go _home!"_

There was a pause. Everyone on the outside of the bars exchanged glances.

"..." Finally, the black-haired man sighed. "Miss, you can't go back home right now…"

"What..?" Manami's eyes widened, trembling softly. "Wh... Why not?!"

"..." The man's expression saddened. "Listen…"

He then went to kneel down in front of her, so he could be eye-level with her.

"Right now, you're in another world, far from home. If you try to run away, you could get lost and maybe even hurt." He told her, his voice now gentle.

"We'll take care of you and explain everything, but we need your word that you'll remain calm. It's in your best interest."

"..." Manami stared at the man for a long moment, but she finally came to understand. Her shoulders slumped as she lowered her head… and gave a nod.

"But... keep _them_ away from me." She said, shooting a glare to the blonde boy and the suit of armor.

"Well, this just got more awkward…" The blonde boy sighed before walking to the cell.

"Stand still, alright?"

Manami watched him clap his hands and touch the cage. There were flashes of light, and the bars around her sank back into the ground where they came from.

"There. Now please, do NOT run off again." He muttered, turning his head.

Manami shot him a dirty look, but the man in uniform spoke before she could say anything.

"Shall you accompany us to my office?" He asked. "I can brief you on everything you need to know there.

Manami whipped to turn and follow him, her hair smacking the blonde across the face as she turned.

"!" Ed stared at her in shock for a moment, but then gritted his teeth.

"You _little..!_"

"Brother," Al put a hand on his shoulder. "Just… let it go."

* * *

Manami was led to an office, where the man sat behind a desk, and the woman in a matching uniform stood beside him. Manami sat down on a couch in front of the desk, across from the strange boys. After the woman in uniform served them all tea and biscuits, the man spoke from behind his desk.

"... I suppose that... before we begin, an introduction is in order. I am Colonel Roy Mustang." He then gestured to the woman who returned to his side. "This here is my lieutenant, Riza Hawkeye. The two sitting across from you are the Fullmetal Alchemist, Edward Elric, and his brother, Alphonse Elric."

"Please to meet yo—" Alphonse began to speak, but immediately stopped at the sight of Manami shooting him a death glare. After that, he could only shrink in intimidation.

"Now that we've introduced ourselves, may we have the pleasure of knowing the name of our Keyblade wielder?" Roy Mustang asked.

"..." Manami slowly looked over to him. "My name… is Manami."

Mustang gave a nod. "Alright, Manami.." He went to stand and walk around the desk. "You're currently stationed in Central Command in our world of Amestris. We're this world's leading military power, whose current mission is to fend off and end the threat of the creatures known as "The Heartless"... though in order to do this, we had to seek out one who wielded 'The Keyblade' to do so."

Manami could feel her head already throbbing again. With a sigh, she went to hold her forehead with her free hand.

"I'm not going too fast, am I?" Mustang asked.

"No... but…" Manami lifted her head from her palm so that she could gesture down to the Keyblade in her lap. "I don't understand why _me,_ of all people, was 'chosen?'"

Despite that Mustang's eyes narrowed a little, she continued.

"Like... there's not a backup person for any of this? Because I can tell you right now, I could barely fend off those monsters before, _them_ as my witnesses." She said, gesturing to the boys sitting across from her.

"What makes you think that I can—"

"Because, despite what you or any of us think... that key remains in your hand." Mustang said, giving her a somber look.

"If you weren't worthy, you wouldn't be holding it. That's why."

"..." Manami couldn't find any words to say, so she just turned her head to look down at her lap, her hand gripping the handle of the Keyblade tightly.

"The Keyblade contains many hidden powers that you merely haven't tapped into yet— powers that come from one's heart." Mustang explained. "It's the perfect weapon for not only fighting the heartless, but sealing them away so they don't return."

He paused for a moment so that he could sip his own tea.

"It's a power that many of us lack, and even the most powerful magic, alchemy, or technology we have at our disposal can't get the job done. Having a Keyblade wielder like you is crucial if we're to finally rid these worlds of heartless once and for all. It's possible that you might even be able to restore worlds that were completely enveloped in darkness... and that includes your world."

Manami's eyes widened a little when he said that, but she kept her eyes on the Keyblade in her lap.

"And… what about the people in those worlds..?" She asked, quietly.

"We don't know for certain…" Mustang crossed his arms. "But I'd say there's a good chance they would be restored along with their world."

"..." Manami opened her mouth to say something, but suddenly the doors to the office burst open, making her jump.

"?!" She looked up to see someone entering the room, followed by two men in black suits and sunglasses. Before Manami knew it, she saw the Elric brothers quickly stand up from the couch they sat on and raising their hands in a salute.

Manami raised a brow and looked back to see Mustang and Hawkeye, already in a salute, before looking at the man who entered the room. Were those men with him bodyguards? This guy had to be important...

"Afternoon, Colonel Mustang! Apologies for the unexpected entrance, but I have heard reports of a new Keyblade Wielder discovered." The man spoke, and turned his head to look down at Manami. He had an eye patch over one of his eyes…

"I assume this is her, right here?"

"U-Um…" Manami felt herself shrinking in intimidation.

"Furher King Bradley, Sir!" Mustang spoke, making the man look to him. "We can all safely confirm that yes, we have successfully located and secured the Keyblade wielder."

"Her name is Manami." Hawkeye added. "Her world was consumed, but thanks to the efforts of the Elric brothers, she was safely transported to Central Command."

"Ah…" The man named King Bradley hummed. "I see…"

He looked back down to Manami with a friendly smile. "Well, my eye doesn't deceive me. That's definitely a Keyblade you have there!" He said, gesturing to the weapon in her lap.

"Oh, pardon me. I forget you're not from around here... I'm the Furher; the commander-and-chief of the state military you find yourself in. But you can call me King Bradley."

Manami awkwardly stood up and bowed politely. "Nice to meet you… sir..."

"Oh, no need to be so formal!" Bradley laughed. "You're not part of the military… at least not _yet,_ anyway."

_"Huh?"_ Manami thought, feeling the color drain from her face. _"Yet..?"_

She silently watched as the Elric brothers moved away from their couch to allow their Furher to sit down. He poured himself a cup of tea before he spoke again.

""I assume Mustang already briefed on the situation, yes?"

"Y-Yes but… hold on…" Manami began to sweat. "What did you mean… by saying that I'm not a part of your military… yet?"

"We must enlist you, of course." Bradley said simply, before taking a sip of his tea. "Our mission has been to find Keyblade wielders to enlist in our military in order to combat the threat of the Heartless."

"I mean…" Manami swallowed thickly. "I don't have to be _enlisted_ in order to help out…"

"On the contrary," Bradley lowered his cup of tea to its saucer. "You do. You see, Miss Manami… you may be the first Keyblade wielder we've found in quite some time… but you're not the first, period."

"So, where are the others..?" Manami asked. "Because I was telling Mustang that—"

"There are currently no others." Bradley's visible eye narrowed.

Manami felt a lump form in her throat as she watched him set his teacup and saucer down on the table.

"You see, Manami…" Bradley folded his hands in his lap. "Due to past… mistakes… we have intentions on enlisting you in our military, so that we can keep an eye on you. A Keyblade can close the doors that let Heartless flood in, but they can also open even more doors— if its wielder so chooses. We take it upon ourselves to monitor any Keyblade wielder we can find to make sure they don't do the latter. All the while, we offer our assistance— particularly, protection and resources— to assist in closing those doors."

"..." Manami swallowed thickly. "With all due respect… this is a strange offer."

She lifted her head to look up at him. "Considering… well, not only am I not from your world, but also... I'm just a kid…"

"Ohoho," Bradley let out a laugh. "Do you really think age is a factor?"

He gestured to the Elric brothers. "Lieutenant Hawkeye, how old are these two boys again?"

"Edward Elric is 15 years old, Sir." Hawkeye answered. "His brother Alphonse is 14. To be technical, Edward Elric was made an official state Alchemist when he was 12, while Alphonse was made into an Honorary 'Knight' at age 11."

Manami blinked, looking over to the two boys. The one known as Ed crossed his arms and turned his head.

"As you can see, these boys were even younger than you when they joined the military." Bradley said. "They joined of their own free will as well; they merely had things they needed that the military could provide. I'd assume you're in the same boat given your current situation... but, unlike them, joining us might be more within your interests…"

Suddenly, a dark demeanor washed over Bradley's face. "I assume Mustang told you what would happen if you choose to refuse working with us?"

"N-No... he didn't…" Manami admitted, feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Simple really." Bradley said. "You'll become an enemy of the state. As I said, that Keyblade of yours is very powerful. It would be bad if it fell into the wrong hands... or rather, it would be bad if those wrong hands were yours. Letting a rogue Keyblade wielder run around could bring ruin to countless worlds, therefore it is not something I will allow."

Manami's eyes went wide in horror as the revelation sunk in.

_"I don't… have a choice…"_

"..." She looked down to her lap, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"I-I guess... that makes sense…" She managed to croak out.

Al looked up and saw, in that moment, that Manami looked utterly terrified.

"Um... excuse me... Furher, Sir?"

Everyone except Manami looked up to Al, who was the one who broke the silence.

"With all due respect... all of this is a lot for her to take in…" He said, softly. "She just lost her home and everyone she's ever cared about. She's on a new unfamiliar world different from her own filled with people she doesn't know. She's being given a responsibility bigger than anything she could imagine…"

"That's right." Ed spoke up as well. "Me and Al had time to... mentally prepare ourselves, before we joined the State. Manami just got here..."

"FullMetal..!" Roy hissed through gritted teeth, but Bradley chuckled and held up a hand.

"It's quite alright." Bradley chuckled. "Continue."

"... please, sir... give Manami time to think before she makes her choice." Al pleaded.

"..?" Manami looked up to Al, honestly astonished… he was going so far for her sake…

It actually… touched her.

"We know things are urgent and we're aware of the risks... so me and brother will look after her in the meantime..!"

"Oh?" Bradley raised a bro. "And what do you expect to do if she goes rogue and escapes from you two?"

"Then... we take full responsibility." Ed answered, coolly.

"..!" Manami blinked, now even more in surprise. These two… were willing to take responsibility for her?

"Full responsibility, hmm? Interesting…" The Furher suddenly let out an amused chuckle.

"To be willing to put your necks on the line for someone you just met... Well, I trust you boys are good judges of character." Bradley then stood up and clapped the suit of armor on the shoulder.

"You're right, Alphonse…" He then looked back to Manami. "I will give you two days to think on it."

"..." Manami slowly nodded.

"I trust you'll make the right choice in the end. In the meantime, you can relax… perhaps the Elric brothers can give you a tour of Central City, while you're here."

As Furher King Bradely says his farewells, everyone except Manami saluted him as he exited the room. After the door closed, everyone was silent… only hearing the footsteps get further and further away down the hall.

"Hmph…" Mustang crossed his arms. "Well, color me impressed. I sometimes forget you boys are more mature than I thought."

"... I have my reasons…" Ed said quietly.

"It's the least we can do all things considered…" Al nodded in agreement.

Neither of them couldn't stop thinking about that boy on Manami's homeworld… how they failed to save him, and Manami crying out for him… on top of having to basically kidnap her and force her to join a foreign military.

They knew that there was a need for a Keyblade wielder to save the universe, but… seeing her be ripped away from everything she knew and loved… to be so scared and confused… and because they brought her here... it made them both feel sour, inside.

"Well... this begs the question of where Manami will be staying then." Lieutenant Hawkeye spoke broke the silence. "And wherever she goes, the Elrics go."

BANG! The doors burst open once again, making Manami jump almost a foot high and let out a shriek.

"AAHH!"

Was it Bradley again?! A gunshot?! She looked over to see that it was neither, but a man with dark green hair and glasses wearing a goofy grin.

"YO ROY!" He trotted in the room, letting the doors fall shut behind him. "I heard you guys finally found the Keyblade wielder, so I thought I'd meet her for myself! I also heard she was quite the handful…"

"... Hello Hughes." Mustang sighed. "Yes, we have indeed found the—"

Roy stopped midsentence once he saw that the spectacled man had already approached Manami, and was shaking her hand so hard that he was jostling her whole body. Manami, on the other hand, was still pale and looking like a ghost.

"Hello there! So you're the new Keyblade Wielder, am I right?" The man grinned widely. "I'm Officer Maes Hughes. Welcome to Amestris! Since you're new here... that means you haven't seen pictures of my darling little Elicia yet!"

"H-Huh?" Manami watched Hughes with a bewildered expression as he pulled out a photo wallet, and opens it to show numerous pictures of who she assumed was his daughter…

"Isn't she the cutest thing _ever?_"

Manami, despite that she was incredibly overwhelmed, still managed to put on a weak smile. "Y-Yeah… she's definitely, uh, cute..!"

"I KNOW!" Hughes squealed. "SHE'S JUST THE SWEETEST—"

"I think you're coming in a little strong there, Hughes…" Ed sighed heavily, crossing his arms.

"Sorry, I'm just glad that someone can appreciate her sweetness opposed to a certain a grouch!" Hughes turned away to shoot a pouty look to Mustang, who just rolled his eyes.

Hawkeye cleared her throat. "Did you have anything to report, Hughes?"

"Not really." Hughes replied, putting his hands on his hips. "But hey, it looks like that search was a success, huh?"

He then leaned in to whisper so that only Mustang could hear. "You know, considering you sent the Elrics on that mission to begin with... there's a chance you could be getting yourself quite the promotion in the near future. Good call, Roy."

"We'll see about that..." Roy whispered back, then spoke again at normal volume. "First thing's first: we need to make arrangements for Manami's lodging. She... needs time to rest."

"The Keyblade wielder needs a place to stay?" Hughed blinked, then smiled widely. "WHY NOT MY HOUSE?!"

"Huh?!" Manami flinched, then went to hold her hands up. "NO!"

Everyone looked back at her, and she immediately regretted her outburst.

"I-I mean… I couldn't..!" She corrected herself. "Wouldn't a hotel be more, uh... appropriate?" She squeaked.

"Nonsense! It would be no trouble at all!" Hughes insisted.

"Besides... I'm pretty sure whatever money you brought from your world wouldn't have any value in this one."

"Oh… good point…" Manami felt another layer of sadness wash over her.

_"I'm homeless… **and** broke…"_ She thought.

"Hold on," Ed spoke up "Wherever she goes, we go. We have to watch over her, you know."

"In other words… if you do allow her to take shelter in your home, you'll be just as responsible for her as the Elrics while she's under your roof." Hawkeye added.

"Fine by me!" Hughes laughed. "Hey, why don't you boys take her out on the town for a bit? You know where my house is. I do have a few things I need to discuss with the Colonel here, so I'll meet you there for dinner!"

"Alright… if you say so." Ed went to walk to the door.

"You need any help?" Al offered a hand to help Manami up from the couch, but she stood up without taking his hand. She was still avoiding eye contact…

"I think fresh air will help." Al said, trying not to take offense. "Maybe we could get you a bite to eat, too."

"I'm starving." Ed said simply, opening the door and holding it open as he took a step out.

"..." Manami slowly nodded, and followed the Elric brothers out the door.

Hughes, Hawkeye, and Mustang watched the door for a few moments after it closed. When he was sure they were gone, Hughes turned to talk to Mustang once more.

"... so…" He started. "Looks like the intel I gave you was gold after all. Just didn't think they'd find the wielder along with the Keyblade itself. Guess that was pretty serendipitous, right?"

"Indeed…" Mustang sighed and sat in his chair. "But... I'm still concerned about how quickly that world was devoured. It was unlike anything I had ever seen prior. Either this was all pre-planned, they have a new method of amassing heartless, or…"

"... someone tried opening it again, Sir?" Hawkeye finished for him.

"... let's hope not."


	4. Chapter 4

Manami walked with the Elric brothers through Central City, noticing how different it was from her home… everything looked significantly older, like something from the 1920's… but yet, they had those space ships?

"Are you hungry, Manami?" Al asked. "Maybe there's some place we can take you to eat. Don't worry, we'll happily pay for it!"

"..." Manami didn't answer. She was still feeling guilty about the way she treated these boys earlier… and yet, they still stood up for her to _basically_ the leader of their country.

Why were they being so nice..? Well, it wasn't like the boy in the armor _wasn't_ nice at any point...

"_Other than when he shoved me inside his armor like a ragdoll…"_ She thought to herself.

"Um... you okay, Manami?"

"Huh?" Manami snapped out of her thoughts to see the armored boy looking down at her. "I'm sorry, uh… I-I guess I could eat…"

"I'd ask what you're in the mood for, but for all I know we might not have everything you have back on your world." Edward spoke.

He continued speaking, but Manami got distracted at the sight of a pair of street venders. One of them seemed to be a small child, while the other seemed to be an older woman. They were selling some items that looked... familiar.

"..!" And it clicked in Manami's head. Those items looked like what she and Kai saw at that 'antique' stand... back at the carnival.

But yet, the vendors didn't look like the people she saw before. They had different hair and clothes. The boy also had freckles, while the woman had freckles.

Manami had absentmindedly stopped walking to stare at the vendors. After a few steps, Ed and Al noticed that Manami had stopped and looked back at her.

"Huh?" Al blinked.

"Uh… hello?" Ed walked back to her before following her gaze, seeing the vendors.

"What is it?"

"Shh!"

"?!" Ed's face twisted. "What do you mean, 'shh?!'"

"I mean _shh!_" Manami held a finger to her lips before looking back at the vendors.

"Geez…" Ed crossed his arms and let out a huff. "How hard did she hit her head in your armor, Al?"

"... enough to give her a mild concussion?" Al squeaked.

Though Manami didn't hear them. She was too busy watching the vendors starting to break down their table. They packed away their merch and rolled up their carpet before walking down the street.

"..." Her eyes narrowed at the sight of them walking into an alley.

"Manami…" Al whispered. "Is something wrong?"

"It's just some street vendors selling junk." Ed huffed. "Trust me, you don't want what they got."

Manami didn't respond, but suddenly went to jog across the street.

"Hey!" Ed called for her, then glanced at his brother, before they both went to follow her.

Manami made it across the street and made it to the alley where the vendors went to. She peeked around the corner to see them a few feet away.

Just as she thought… the boy was taking off their glasses, while the woman was wiping their face with a cloth.

It was exactly as she thought... they were in disguise! And she knew who they were right away!

"Something wrong, Fletcher?"

"We didn't make as much as I hoped we would... I don't think this is gonna be enough to feed all of us."

"Well... I could always just lure in a sweet delivery boy... or disguise you as one! You'd be adorable.

"N-No! That's going too far, Clara! ... but... we might not have much of a choice…"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures, my dear brother."

Manami's eyes widened at the sight of an even more familiar boy… Russel. He steps towards his brother and comrade, followed by the other two women she saw at the carnival.

"Unfortunately, we didn't have much luck either…" The girl with the pink hair spoke. "Since we lost almost everything back on that other world..."

"Speak for yourselves!" The gauntlet girl sneered and pulled out a wallet from her pocket. "Dinner's on me tonight! Or rather…"

She opened the wallet to look at their identification. "It's on... Mario Bermudez!"

"Not bad!" Russel smiled at her.

"Paninya, you promised you'd stop doing that!" Fletcher cried.

"You gotta be kidding me…" Manami heard Ed speak from behind her. She glanced behind her to see Ed and Al looking around the corner with her.

"_That_ guy again!?"

"I guess they've formed a gang since…" Al trailed off. "... wait, is that Rose? Why is _she_ with them?!"

Manami blinked in surprise, but then shook her head. This was her chance to get some answers! She then went to run out of hiding, down the alleyway.

"Ack!" Ed flinched. "What is she—"

"HEY! Russell!" Manami stopped in front of the group, glaring up at Russel with her hands clenched.

"!" Russel's eyes widened. "You're… alive…"

The group all seemed shocked to see her.

"And you're still the same rotten cheat from last time!" Ed yelled, as he and Al followed her.

"I'm glad to see you were able to escape, too…" Russel sighed in relief, seemingly ignoring the Elric brothers.

"So, still got our 'antique,' Miss Manami?"

"Wait…" Al blinked. "Manami, do you know him, too?"

"I sure do…" Manami said, her face twisting in a frown. "He's the reason I have the Keyblade in the first place…"

"So... you gonna give it back?" Paninya asked, placing a hand on her hip.

Manami shot her a glare. "Says the chick who's holding a stolen wallet."

"... and your point is?" Paninya turned her head to avoid Manami's eyes.

Manami just rolled her eyes and then pointed to Russel. "YOU said that you'd tell me everything you know! So, it's time for answers!"

"What do you mean _he's_ the reason you have the Keyblade?" Ed interjected.

"Did he... give it to you?" Al inquired.

"Not exactly." Russel shook his head. "If anything, Manami ended up snatching it up for herself in a sense."

"I did _not!_" Manami stomped her foot.

"We were merely traveling with that Keyblade as part of our display, and she apparently got too close... and found it in her hand."

"Where the _hell_ did you find a Keyblade?!" Ed snapped. "You're aware that the universe is on the brink of being swallowed by darkness, and you're showing a Keyblade on display at freakin' _carnivals?!_"

"It's valuable." Russel shrugged his shoulders, his dismissiveness making Ed growl. "Anyway... she may not have chosen the Keyblade, but it most certainly chose her."

"Either way, we're just glad that she made it out alive…" Rose spoke, then smiled sheepishly at the sight of Ed.

"Oh... um... Hi Edward…" She smiled sheepishly.

"And of course I gotta ask why you're hanging out with _these_ guys now." Ed raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just taking your advice…" Rose said quietly. "You told me I have a strong pair of legs and that I should use them, so that's exactly what I did."

"To join a bunch of thieves and con-artists?" Ed exasperated. "ARE YOU CRAZY?!"

"I don't see why you're so mad, Edward." Clara smirked. "We're taking really good care of her!"

"Why do I find that hard to believe?!" Ed gritted his teeth.

"... tell me…" Manami spoke up. "If I never went inside your shop... none of this would have happened, right..? My home wouldn't have been destroyed... Kai wouldn't have been…"

She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence. She could only grit her teeth and glare down to her feet and clench her fists tightly.

"Manami... I can assure you that we're not responsible for what happened to your world." Russel replied, his face somber.

"He's right…" Fletcher spoke up. "The Heartless consume worlds and envelop them in darkness. In fact... me and my brother lost our home because of the Heartless."

"..?" Manami looked back up at them, eyes wide with surprise.

"We've... been fighting Heartless for years." Ed explained. "I hate to say it, but… even if those guys never came to your world, the Heartless would have come anyway."

"Exactly." Paninya shrugged her shoulders. "If anything, you should be thanking us, especially since you took our merchandise. You're welcome by the way!"

That comment made Manami's face twist into a scowl.

"I have _nothing_ to thank you for!" She snapped. "I didn't even WANT it! Where did you people even _get_ it?! If I really _am_ the chosen one for it... why did it wait until _now,_ after _who knows how many_ worlds were consumed, before coming to me?!"

"Manami…"

"I have NO idea what I'm doing!" Manami gritted her teeth. "And now I'm expected to just rise up and be some kind of hero?! When I couldn't even save MY FRIEND?!"

Silence rung through the alleyway after Manami's outburst. Ed and Al looked to their feet sadly, but… Russel looked bewildered.

"Wait…" He whispered. "You mean you didn't see him escape?"

Manami's eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open.

"Escape?" Al gasped.

"Hold on… are you implying you saw him get away? That's impossible!" Ed shook his head.

"I was right there! We saw him get swept away by those Heartless!"

"There's no way he stayed on that world." Russel insisted. "Not after what I saw while I was escaping with the others…"

Suddenly, Manami lunged forward at Russel. By the time everyone got to react, Manami had already grabbed Russel by the collar with both hands and turned the both of them so that she could pin him against the wall.

"R-Russell..!" Fletcher cried.

Paninya and Clara immediately readied themselves to attack. Ed and Al noticed this and were getting ready to defend… but, Russel raised a hand to Paninya and Clara, silently signaling them to stand down.

"..." He didn't take his eyes off of Manami's… and he saw the hurt in her eyes… he felt the trembling of her hands holding him down…

He knew that she wasn't going to hurt him… she was just desperate.

"..." Manami let out a shaky breath. "What… did you see? Please…"

Russel began to explain...

* * *

_Kai looked from the corner of his eye and saw the two strangers with Manami... who were they? And where did they come from?_

_Just then, he was swept up by the tendril. The shadows were gripping and holding his body as they flung him into the air and pulled him into their main body._

_Kai tried reaching out for Manami, but he was sucked inside, crying out for her._

_"MANAMI!"_

_"KAI!" Manami tried reaching as well, but with the armor holding her back, she couldn't reach him._

_The blonde boy watched Kai, his eyes wide with horror, realizing in that moment that he failed to save him._

_"No... What have I…"_

_He clenched his fists and looked to his brother. He knew that they couldn't dwell on this, or they would be in danger, too._

_"AL, RESTRAIN HER! WE NEED TO GO NOW!"_

_"WHAT?!" Manami shrieked._

_"I-I'm sorry for what I'm about to do, but…"_

_The armor suddenly opened his chest plate and forced Manami inside, before closing up. The two boys then started to run away from the tornado, the blonde leading the way._

_Kai saw this happen from inside the shadowy tornado, his eyes wide._

_"No... They're kidnapping her!" He struggled in the darkness._

_"Wait! Stop! MANA—"_

_Kai was pulled into the tornado and enveloped in darkness before he can scream Manami's name one last time._

_He struggled inside the swarm of Heartless, trying his best to push them aside or rip them off as they crowded his vision. No matter how many he pushed aside, no matter how far he managed to crawl out, he was always pulled back in... _

_He could only see the outside world through a narrow opening through the middle of the Heartless..._

_But then… he saw what looked like a rocket ship, blasting off high into the sky. But where did that come from?_

_He put two and two together… those strangers took Manami aboard that ship…_

_Manami… was gone._

_He could only watch as it flew off into the sky and disappeared behind the black storm clouds… and his eyes filled with tears as his heart broke._

"_..." He stopped fighting… he let the Heartless grab onto him and pull him into the darkness, as the opening he watched from closed._

_Before, he felt an overwhelming fear, but now... he just felt an overpowering loneliness, leaving him feeling completely hollow._

_However... that emptiness soon began to fade, as was replaced with another feeling that slowly consumes him…_

_Rage._

"_..!" Kai then began to struggle once more, ripping the Heartless off of his unbridled rage which makes him begin to actually start struggling.]_

"_I LOST HER BECAUSE I WAS TOO WEAK... AND NOW I'M GOING TO DIE!"_

"_DAMN IT, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE LIKE THIS!? Why am I so useless? WHY?!"_

"_I HATE THIS... I HATE MYSELF…"_

"_AND I... __**HATE... ALL OF YOU!**_"

_Kai's eyes suddenly began glowing yellow, as something was triggered inside him..._

_Russel Tringham had heard Kai's screams, and looked to see where it had come from._

"_?!" Russel had frozen in his tracks at the sight of the giant Heartless tornado. Just then, it began to inflate from within, as if something is making it overflow from inside…_

_**BOOM!**_

_The tornado exploded in a massive shockwave of darkness. Russel was nearly blown away by the impact, but he looked up to see someone familiar, floating several feet in the air…_

_It was Kai! But… his body was emitting an eerie dark aura, which dispersed after a few moments. His clothes were torn and his body looked limp, but it was Kai's expression that concerned Russel._

_He had such a blank… emotionless look on his face…_

_His eyes fell shut as he lost consciousness, and his limp body began to plummet to the ground. Before Russel could go after him, the Heartless cut him off. _

_But then, he saw someone appear below Kai and catch him in their arms. It was a woman… a woman in a black dress and hair._

"_HEY!" Russel yelled for her, as he saw her turn to walk towards a vortex of darkness. "HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"_

_But she didn't even turn to acknowledge Russel. She just stepped in that vortex, and then it closed behind her…_

"_Damn…" Russel growled in frustration, before turning to run and meet the rest of his group at their own gummi ship, so that they could escape..._

* * *

"... and that's the last I saw of him." Russel concluded his story.

"We ended up coming here because... well, it's one of the few places where we knew we'd be safe, even if some of us do have a bit of a record here…"

"Is that... all true?" Al whispered.

"I have no reason to lie." Russel said, coolly. "I know what I heard and I know what I saw. That woman carried off your friend before your world was consumed. I don't know where he is, but... he definitely got away."

Manami, who had been looking into Russel's eyes for the entire duration of his story, looked down to her feet.

"..." Her hands slowly unclenched and released his collar, then staggered backwards on shaky legs... until her back hit the wall across from the one she had pinned Russel on.

"Manami…" Al took a step towards her, watching as she slid her back down the wall until she was now sitting on the ground.

"... I'm okay…" She whispered, lifting her knees so that she could prop her elbows on them and hold her head in her palms.

"He's alive…" Her voice was shaky. "... Kai's alive…"

In that moment, everyone saw the tears rolling down her cheeks from under her palms.

"_At the very least…" _Al thought to himself. "_It's a relief that her friend is alive…"_

"Hold on a second," Ed spoke up, his voice serious. "I didn't forget that I want to know where you got a Keyblade in the first place, Russel."

"While exploring other worlds for some new things to add to our shop, I came across a rather barren world." Russel explained, as he fixed his shirt and stood upright to face the Elric brothers.

"There was a city in ruin, and among all the wreckage was a perfectly preserved Keyblade. Like I'd leave without taking it...

"The thing was a dud anyway… or so we thought at the time." Paninya added, shrugging her shoulders. "Even Rose didn't feel anything when she touched it. Honestly, we had the thought that it might not even be genuine…"

"But still, why didn't you turn it in to the military?" Al asked.

"They didn't say anything about a monetary reward, now did they?" Clara answered, a sly smile on her lips. "Besides, we figured it wasn't the real deal, and we could've been punished for trying to scam the military for all we know."

"..." Ed sighed heavily. "Knowing the reputation of most of you guys, I'm not convinced… but, unfortunately, we're gonna have to take your word for it."

"..." Al looked back down to Manami, seeing her wiping her eyes with her wrists.

"I still... don't understand all this mumbo jumbo about 'Keyblades and wielders…'" She said quietly. "But…if Kai is alive, and he really is somewhere out there... maybe this Keyblade can help me find him."

Manami put her hand on the wall so that she could push herself to stand up once more. Her eyes are red and puffy, but there were no more tears.

"... I _really_ didn't think I'd ever be saying this to you, but…" She let out a heavy sigh.

"Thank you. At least for the information."

"You're welcome." Russel nodded. "And hey, my offer to join us is still open! We could definitely use some one of your skills."

"NO WAY!" Ed yelled. "It's our responsibility to watch after her, and we're not gonna let her join some group of no-good thieves and con-artists. She has more important things to do!"

"Thieves and con-artists is such a harsh word…" Clara frowned.

"I'd describe us more as 'traveling entrepreneurs.'"

"I don't care _what_ you call yourselves, I'm not joining you." Manami crossed her arms.

"I see…" Russel sighed. "Well, if being a chosen one doesn't work out, we'll always have an open spot just for you, Manami."

"We intend to keep moving around, but if we ever bump into you again, we'll be happy to share any interesting information... for a price of course!" Paninya grinned.

"Paninya…" Fletcher whined.

"Fine, you'd get a discount." Paninya crossed her arms and huffed.

Manami couldn't help but crack a small, uncomfortable smile in response.

They then waved goodbye before walking out of the alleyway and down the sidewalk in silence.

"..." Manami had been contemplating saying something for a while... but as soon as she opened her mouth, Ed spoke first.

"Man, I can't believe that guy! First he never stops stealing, now he's trying to manipulate Manami."

"Are you still mad about the time him and his brother stole our identities in order to get things?" Al asked.

"Or the time he punched you in the face? ... Or all the times he called you sho—"

"DAMN RIGHT!" Ed screeched. "And now it's even worse because now he's teamed up with that lying thief who duped us… and _then_ that pick-pocket who stole my watch! It's like a freakin' nightmare!"

"Well…" Al looked up in thought. "They seem to be taking care of Rose... and she's never done anything bad to us."

"No, but they might be yanking her along to exploit her power like Cornello did." Ed sighed heavily.

Al perked up, realizing that he and his brother were talking, but Manami was very quiet. He actually glanced back to make sure she was still there.

"You okay, Manami?" He asked.

"... um…" Manami slowly came to a stop, her eyes glued to her feet.

"..."

"If you got something to say, just say it." Ed said, matter-of-factly.

"I…" Manami then went to take a deep breath.

"I think I owe you guys a 'thank you,' too... along with an apology…"

"Huh?" Both Ed and Al exchanged glances, as Manami continued.

"We had a rough start, but... I mean, at the end of it all... you guys saved me. Even if it was because of the key-sword—"

"Um... Keyblade…" Al corrected her, gently.

"Yeah, that." Manami nodded, then let out a sigh. "... I was kind of a jerk—"

"You smacked me in the face with your hair." Ed frowned at her.

"Right... I was _a lot_ of a jerk this whole time," Manami corrected herself. "And... I'm sorry."

"t's fine Manami... really!" Al replied, quickly. "Me and brother never held anything against you. We understand that you're going through a lot... all of this is a lot to take in."

Ed kept his frown for a moment, but then let out a sigh, before giving her a small smile.

"It's all good between us." He said. "I'm actually surprised but glad that you came around this quickly."

"Really?" Manami chuckled nervously. "Because I don't feel like I still haven't come around to much of anything… but hey, we might as well be on good terms if you're gonna have to be stuck with me."

She then smiled.

"Ed…" She looked to Al first.

"And Al…" She looked to Ed.

"... thanks."

"Huh..?" The suit of armor blinked.

"What?" Manami blinked as well. "Those are your names, right?"

She pointed to Ed. "Al…"

And then she pointed to Al. "And Ed, The FullMetal Alchemist?"

"..." Ed and Al stared at her for a long moment, making her start to feel uncomfortable.

"What..?" She asked, nervously. "You guys are freaking me out!"

Ed had clenched his fists tightly, muttering under his breath through gritted teeth.

"This again? REALLY? You'd think after all these years... people would stop making that mistake!"

"Y-You got it mixed up…" Al stammered nervously.

"I'm not Edward, he is! _I'm_ Alphonse." He explained. "Um… don't worry, it's a common mistake—"

"A MISTAKE I'M TIRED OF!" Ed burst out, making Manami jump.

"Okay," Ed quickly ran a hand through his bangs. "Let's put an end to that confusion _right _now! That title belongs to _me!_ There's only _one_ Fullmetal Alchemist, and it's _this_ guy here! Edward Elric! Alphonse is my little brother, I'm the BIG brother! Got it?"

"Y-Yeah…" Manami swallowed thickly, managing to remain calm herself.

After all… she had just apologized for treating them badly, to where she almost felt like she deserved of a little bit of attitude back from him.

Still… getting yelled at didn't feel too good, and she couldn't help but frown.

"Brother, please!" Al whined. "She's not from our world, remember? There's no way your reputation would spread that far either!"

"Don't worry... I got it." Manami snipped. "It won't happen again."

There was a short moment of awkward silence... before either of the Elric brothers could say anything else, Manami changed the subject.

"So... can we go to what's-his-name's house now?"

"Y-Yeah…" Al nodded. "Mr. Hughes would probably be getting off work soon."

"Let's make our way over to his house." Ed turned to walk, Al quick to follow him.

"..." Manami followed as well, a few paces behind.

_"I'm ready for bed..."_


	5. Chapter 5

"Mr. Hughes and his family are very nice." Al explained to Manami as they walked down the streets of Central.

"I know it's not quite home but... he seems to be able to make it feel like a second one at least." He said, with a smile in his voice. "At least he did for me and brother."

"Yeah." Ed nodded in agreement. "He's a little overbearing, but he's one of the few people on the military I know that we can count on."

"I see..." Manami looked up to see that the three of them were approaching an estate, and she saw none other than Maes Hughes waiting for them out front. Standing next to him were a woman and a young girl.

"Hey there, Manami!" He greeted her. "Just in time; me and my family were just expecting you! Isn't that right, my little Elicia?

"Hey! It's the little brother," The little girl pointed to Ed. "And the big brother!" She then pointed to Al. She then looked to Manami and raised a brow in curiosity.

"Uuuummmm…" She looked down to her hands and held up fingers as she began to count aloud.

"One… two… three?"

She looked back up at Manami in wonderment and blinked.

"Um… hello…" Manami offered a small smile and went to crouch down so that she could look at the little girl at eye-level.

"My name is Manami."

"... big sister!"

Manami blinked in surprise at the girl's sudden outburst, but then found that she couldn't help but smile.

"Doesn't she just melt your heart?" Maes swooned. "I swear, she's so precious that even after the hardest of days her little smile can brighten anyone's life and melt their icy hearts!"

"Welcome to our home, Manami. My name is Gracia." Maes's wife introduced herself as Manami went to stand back up.

"And welcome back, Edward and Alphonse! My, have you gotten taller, Edward?"

Ed's eyes lit up from such a compliment… but Al knew, in reality, he hadn't gotten any taller. It was just that his little cowlick of hair he had sticking up had grown a little longer… but he wasn't about to burst his brother's bubble.

"It's great to be back, Mrs. Hughes!" Ed grinned.

"I really hope that us coming on such short notice isn't a bother for you." Al added.

"Not at all!" Gracia insisted. "When Maes said that you boys were coming over with a friend, I was more than happy to have you over, just like old times."

Gracia then looked to Manami. "Manami, you must be tired after a long day. We have a guest room you can stay in, and you're more than welcome to join us for dinner tonight."

"Thank you so much." Manami thanked her, giving a polite bow.

She had to admit, the thought of both food and sleep made her feel a whole lot better...

* * *

After a delicious dinner and a shower, Manami retired to the guest room Gracia offered her. It was only now that she was clean and relaxed that she felt more tired than ever...

She tossed her old clothes on the floor next to the bed, but jumped at the "clunk!" that the heap made as it hit the floor.

"?! Oh…" Manami realized that the thud was because of her phone in her pocket… she reached down to dig out everything she had in her pockets.

After setting everything down on the bed, she looked over everything. Her wallet, phone charger, earbuds, and cell phone… these were the only things from her homeworld that came with her.

"..." Manami reached to pick up her cell phone and turn it on to see her lock screen. She felt her heart throb at the sight of a picture of her and Kai, hugging each other and waving at the camera.

They were so happy in this picture... Manami wondered to herself... wherever Kai was, was he just as scared and tired as she was..? She knew that she was always the one to put on a brave front… but, she always knew, deep down... that she was just as scared too, most of the time.

Manami shook her head to dismiss her thoughts as she unlocked her phone, being welcomed by a "**NO SERVICE**" message at the top bar of her screen.

"... not surprising…" Manami let out a weak, bitter chuckle. Still, she navigated her way to her contacts, and found Kai's name.

"_What harm would it do to try?" _She thought.

Manami pressed Kai's name and then held the phone up to her ear. She closed her eyes, only being welcomed by silence. No ring, no busy tone… hell, not even a recording telling her that the line is out of service.

"... of course it wouldn't…"

Manami started to move her phone away from her ear, but stopped when she thought she heard something… a chirp? A half-ring?

"?!" The sound was enough to give Manami hope once more, and she not only pushed her phone tightly against her ear, but used her other hand to hold it there as well.

She waited in anticipation, feeling her heart start to pound in her chest…

After a few more moments of silence… click!

"Hey! You've reached Kai Kuroshima!"

"KAI?!" Manami gasped.

"I'm afraid I'm not here this moment, but leave a message after the beep!" Kai's recorded voice took a deep breath. "BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP! Heheh!"

BEEP!

"Wh…"

Despite hearing the tone, Manami was rendered silent… she stood there, utterly shocked that she made it to Kai's voicemail. She then realized that she was limited on time. Voicemail recordings weren't long, and she didn't know if she would be able to get this far again! She quickly composed herself before starting to speak.

"I-I have no idea how I'm leaving this voicemail right now... there's no servi— wait, that doesn't matter!" Manami got flustered and shook her head.

"Kai... please be alright..! I-I found Russell, and he told me that you managed to escape before—"

Manami realized she was rambling again. She stopped herself, and took a breath.

"I-I don't know where you are, but I just hope you're safe..! I promise, I'll do everything I can to fin—"

"**You have exceeded the maximum time for recording. Thank you for calling, goodbye.**"

Click.

Manami lowered the phone from her ear to look at her phone and see that the call had disconnected. She watched as the phone returned to her lock screen, of the photo of her and her best friend.

"..." Her eyes quickly welled up with tears and pooled out. A teardrop fell from each eye, landing on both her and Kai's faces in the picture.

Manami took a shaky breath and stuffed the phone back in her pocket. She turned to the bed and took all her belongings to shove in her other pocket before she plopped down to sit on the bed, lifting her hands so that she could hold her face in her hands.

She didn't notice that the door behind her opened, and that someone was stepping inside...

"Hey Manami... may I come in..?"

Manami flinched when she heard Maes's voice, and she quickly wiped her eyes with her sleeves before he could see her face.

"Gracia figured you could maybe use a cup of tea. It could help you sleep better, you know." Maes said, as he stepped inside to set the mug of tea on her night stand.

Manami accidentally let out a soft sniffle before speaking. "Thank you... Mister Hughes…"

Despite that she sniffled, she turned to look back at him and put on a pretty believable smile. The only thing that gave her away was, even though she wiped away her tears, her eyes were still red and puffy.

"..." Maes offered a small smile. "You look like you got a lot on your mind. Wanna talk about it?"

"..." Manami's smile faded, and she looked down to her lap.

"I... wouldn't know where to begin…"

"Go ahead and try." Maes chuckled as he went to sit down next to her. "I'm no seasoned traveler, but I've definitely seen and been through quite a few things in my time. I work for the military; I already know about what happened to your world as well as the ultimatum the Furher gave you. The boys may have also spilled the beans about the situation with your friend... but hey, they're just concerned about you."

Manami didn't seem to mind. She was quiet for a long moment, before letting out a sigh.

"Can I ask something?"

"Shoot."

"I keep hearing that you guys are looking for 'Keyblades' and their 'Wielders." Manami started.

"Mm-hmm, that's right." Maes nodded.

"So, like... in the plural sense? ... how many have you found... other than me?"

"Just you." Maes answered. "There was a point where there were more, but those days have long come and gone. Honestly, I've been investigating it for awhile myself, but so far... we haven't found any others."

"..." Manami sighed again, with a hint of a whine in her voice, as she went to bury her face in her hands once again.

"I was supposed to start high school tomorrow... and now I'm here, apparently the _only_ ray of hope when it comes to fighting this darkness... when I had no idea about _any_ of it, until today."

She paused for a moment. "... I'm trying to be brave, but…"

She took a shaky breath as she lifted her head from her hands and looked up to Maes with trembling, scared eyes.

"This... is _way_ over my head, Mr. Hughes..." She confessed. "On top of that, if I say no to this ultimatum, I'm not only stranded here, but also considered an enemy. If I say yes— and if I _do_ somehow manage to... do _whatever_ it is I'm supposed to do— I'm gonna be bound to a military from a world _entirely_ different than my own. And I doubt that they're gonna let their _only_ Keyblade wielder go home so easily…"

In that moment, Manami realized: No matter how she put it... she was trapped.

Manami felt her eyes fill with tears once more as her face twisted in pain. She turned her head to hide her tears. She was frustrated at how much she had cried in front of people today… especially because she hadn't even let Kai see her cry since the first day they met…

"... it's a huge burden, I know." Maes said quietly. "Everyone I know joined the military out of choice, even those boys... but you literally had no choice. You didn't ask for this, you didn't want this, and now everything is going to be different. Some might say that that's just life or part of growing up, but not this. This is bigger than most people could handle, let alone imagine."

Manami glanced back to see that Maes had taken off his glasses and was wiping them with a cloth as he continued speaking.

"Even if you weren't going to be an enemy of the state, you don't seem to be the kind of person who would just sit back and do nothing. Either way, it would still be up to you. I might be part of the military, but I'm not going to pressure you to join. I'm not going to tell you what to do, but I can tell you what you _can_ do. What you can do is save and restore your world— and salvage, if not regain, what was lost. What you can do is find and save your friend. And furthermore, what you can do is trust us…"

Maes finished wiping down his glasses and put them back on his face before looking back at her. "I can't say what will happen once you've finished your duties, but I can promise you that once we've sealed away the Heartless once and for all... that we'll leave you to your world and keep you out of our affairs."

With that, Maes offered her a reassuring smile.

"I have a friend higher up who will make sure of that. The boys, the Colonel... and everyone else. All of them are going to be working not just for us, but also for you. I know we might seem like strangers right now, but just know this: you're not alone."

Manami stared back at him, her eyes wide. That... was not only incredibly touching, but... it made sense.

For the first time since she came to this world, what somebody said to her... didn't confuse her, terrify her, or both. Right now, Maes had laid out her options in such a simple, yet straightforward way... but what he said also didn't scare her.

In fact… it gave her hope.

Manami couldn't explain it, but... she felt so much better. Despite this, the already existent tears in her eyes spilled out when she finally blinked, and she quickly went to wipe her eyes with her sleeve.

"... Thank you, Mr. Hughes..."

After she finished rubbing away her tears, she lowered her arm to reveal a soft smile on her face. "That means a lot…"

Maes couldn't help but smile a little brighter. "No problem, Manami. You just rest up for now."

As he went to stand up, the bedroom door opened to reveal Alphonse Elric.

"Um... h-hi Manami…" The suit of armor greeted her, seeming to be uncomfortable.

"This is awkward, but… um… I have to spend the night with you." He squeaked, nervously going to touch the back of his metal head.

"Huh..?" Manami blinked.

"I kind of have to, since… you know… brother and I are supposed to… watch you?"

"... watch me?" Manami asked, now feeling as uncomfortable as Al did.

"We have the order that we gotta be within ten feet of you at all times." A voice grumbled from behind the suit of armor. The door opened further, revealing Edward stepping in with a small mattress under one arm, and a bundle consisting of pillows and a blanket in the other.

"I-I see…" Manami resisted the urge to frown.

And, just like that, the moment of feeling better was over.

"What is this? Some kind of slumber party?" Maes asked, trying to lighten the mood. " ... Perhaps my little Elicia can join? It could be her very first slumber party!~"

"N-No, that's fine..!" Manami insisted.

"All of this is…" Manami had to take a deep breath before finishing her sentence. "Perfectly... fine."

It was obvious to her that the Elric brothers weren't doing this by their own accord… they were forced to do this as much as she was. She knew that all she could do was just as they were doing… and that was to try to get through it the best she could.

"..." Maes read that through her expression, like an open book.

"Oh come on, the guest room across the hall is too far away to watch her?" He looked back to Ed, letting out a chuckle.

"You know, I don't know if I trust two boys in the same room as a girl... after all, you're all getting to be at that age…"

"..." Manami's face drained of color. "Oh my God…"

"Yeah... no." Ed glared at Maes after plopping the mattress down on the floor. "She's got nothin' to worry about, trust me. We're in here because it's our job."

The suit of armor let out a weak, nervous chuckle. "Sorry Manami. Um... just pretend we're not here..!"

"Yeah," Ed said in agreement as he put down his blanket and pillow. "We'll stay on the other side of the room and give you your space."

Maes could only sigh softly through his nose. Orders were orders...

"Alright..." Maes walked to the door. "But I'm keeping the door open!"

"Thank God…" Manami thought to herself as Maes stepped out of the room, and she went to crawl under her covers and sit in the bed.

She remembered that Maes left tea on the bedside table, and she reached to hold the mug in both hands.

"I'm going to change. I'll be back."

"Okay."

Manami watched the Elric brothers have a short exchange before Ed walked out of the room. After he disappeared into the hallway, Al glanced back at Manami, who quickly averted her eyes and went to sip her tea.

"... mmm…" She hummed softly in response to how the warm drink relieved her throat.

At least this world had tea… which got Manami to wonder what else this world had that was the same as home. She looked around the room briefly, recognizing all of the basic furniture… some pictures on the wall… a clock, but one that was analog. There was no TV, that was for sure.

This world was similar to her own, that much was certain, but it definitely wasn't the same.

By the time Ed had returned in pajamas, his hair now free of a braid, Manami had finished her tea. She set the empty mug on the bedside table and went to roll over on her side, her back facing the Elric brothers.

From behind her, she heard Al's metal steps approach the bedside table, and then the light was clicked off.

After Al had walked back to the other side of the room with his brother and sat down, the room fell silent. Manami, after a few moments, started to feel uncomfortable because of it. She decided to pull her phone and earbuds out of her pocket.

Whenever she was feeling lousy, music always helped.

She plugged an earbud into one of her ears, and paused before plugging the other one into the other. She suddenly felt obligated to say something to Ed and Al…

"... um… goodnight…"

"... 'night." She heard Ed grumble.

"Goodnight, Manami." Al, on the other hand, sounded a little happy.

"..." Manami just left it at that. She plugged in her other earbud, navigated through her phone's music playlist under the covers, and closed her eyes once she settled on a song

And, only moments later, she was already asleep.

* * *

**VRRRRR! VRRRRR!**

Manami shot straight up, her heart racing. It felt like she had just woken up from one of those "falling" dreams, yet she had no recollection of whether she even had a dream.

Her head whipped to the source of the noise that jolted her awake, and saw her cell phone vibrating harshly on the wooden surface that was her nightstand.

Wait... _her_ nightstand?

In that moment, Manami realized that she knew exactly where she was…

"I'm… in my room…" She whispered, like saying it aloud had confirmed it to be true.

She was... home!

Manami snatched her phone from her night stand to see that her alarm was going off. It was 10am... that was what time she was supposed to wake up on the morning of the carnival!

Manami then couldn't help but smile from ear to ear… today was the carnival! Which meant…

"It... was all a dream!" Manami laughed to herself as she jumped out of bed and started to get ready for the day.

It was like she had a dream that was warning her to not make mistakes like sleeping through her alarm, or forgetting to brush her hair… or the whole world would've been destroyed?!

She couldn't remember when she had a dream that was so ridiculous!

"That's it, no more snacks less than two hours before bed!" She pointed her hairbrush to her reflection in the mirror, trying to keep a stern look, but she was quick to burst out laughing once more.

_As she walked out, thinking of how she couldn't wait to tell Kai the story of her dream... she had failed to notice that she was wearing a bright star-shaped necklace around her neck._

Manami walked down the street at a comfortable pace, not worried about being pressed for time. She was now able to wait at crosswalks so that she could cross safely.

When she arrived to the entrance for the carnival, she found no sign of Kai.

"Huh, weird…" Manami went to pull out her phone to check the time. It was about time for them to meet, but usually Kai was early to things. She figured it wouldn't hurt to call him, but just as she put the phone to her ear…

"GAH!"

Kai suddenly appeared in front of her, sweaty and out of breath. His hair was even a little messier than usual!

"S-Sorry..!" Kai wheezed. "I slept past my alarm somehow, and_—_"

Manami suddenly lunged forward, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Wow..!" Kai blinked in surprise from the sudden and intense hug.

"Um…" Kai reached to hug her back, chuckling nervously. "Happy to see you too, Manami!"

"Sorry…" Manami apologized, also chuckling weakly as she released her best friend.

"I just… had a really weird dream last night... I'll tell you more later, let's go inside!"

_Again, Manami failed to notice that she and Kai were already sporting their star and moon necklaces around their necks._

Shortly after walking inside, Manami noticed a tent off to the side… just like in her dream.

"..."

"Want to check it out?" Kai asked, having had followed her glance to the tent.

"Nope." Manami said bluntly. "Let's get food first."

With that, she pulled Kai to walk in the opposite direction of the tent. She didn't care what was in this tent, but she had no desire to find out.

"Anyway, I wanted to tell you about this wack dream I had…"

After they went to a food stand to get kabobs_ (without paying any money for some reason…)_, Manami and Kai made their way to their usual spot on the pier to sit and eat. As they munched on their food and overlooked the sunset, Manami told Kai the whole story of her dream.

"So... I was basically kidnapped by this midget and his robot, while you got swallowed by this huge tornado of monsters... and I was taken to this different planet that was like ours but like... also the 1920's?"

"..."

Manami looked over to see Kai staring blankly at her, making her scoff.

"I told you it was wack."

"No kidding… but weird or not, it was just a dream. I'm still here, see?" He waved his kabob at her and chuckled.

"And... I can say without a doubt that even if something crazy like that happened, nothing would ever keep us apart, right?"

Manami grinned back to her best friend. "Right."

She went to take another bite, but something hard bumped against her mouth, instead of food.

"Ow! What_—_"

Manami looked down, and her eyes went wide at the sight of not a kabob in her hand… but the Keyblade.

"Wh-What's…"

Manami raised her head to look up, and saw that the skies were dark and gray, the clouds swirling ominously. She then looked to her side to see that Kai was no longer there.

"Kai?!" She called out, quickly standing up and looking around. She finally located Kai, standing at the opposite end of the pier. She couldn't see his eyes, because his head was lowered and his bangs were covering them.

Behind him, the shadow Heartless were running amok… destroying the carnival and attacking people.

Just like before...

Manami broke out into a run towards Kai, but it felt as if she was never getting any closer to him. No matter how hard she ran, he remained far away from her.

"Kai!" Manami cried, reaching out to him.

She swore she heard him begin to chuckle, and saw that he raised his head to reveal his face, his expression starting to shift into something dark... as if he were laughing while crying.

But then… his expression changed into an angry frown, as he glared at her.

"... You liar…"

"Huh?!" Manami came to a halt, frozen in shock.

Kai's shadow suddenly extended and towered above him… then split into seven. Each shadow started to make a distinct shape and size, but Manami couldn't properly make any of them out within the chaos.

She could only watch in horror as Kai's body was then enveloped by darkness. From within, Manami could see Kai give her a sinister grin as his eyes turned into an eerie violet.

Suddenly, the darkness surrounding him exploded with a black fiery aura. Manami shielded her face by holding the Keyblade in front of her, but the aura was so strong that it pushed Manami back, despite her not being that close to him.

"Kai!" She cried out his name again, but lost her balance and fell backwards.

Instantly, she realized that she wasn't going to land on the pier, but that she somehow was falling backwards over the edge! She saw Kai step to the edge of the pier... not to help her, but merely to look down on her and watch her fall with those glowing violet eyes...

**SPLASH!**

_As Manami hit the water and submerged under the chillingly cold water, she realized it's familiarity immediately._

_This sensation… it was the same as the last dream she had..! But this time, instead of being pushed into the water from above, she felt like something was pulling her down… from under her._

_Manami let out a shriek that was only muffled in the water, her chest getting tight after releasing the wasted air. She looked up to the surface, her vision of Kai getting dark and murky as she was pulled deeper and deeper under the water._

_Manami tried to scream as hard as she could, but only released bubbles…_

_And then she blacked out._

* * *

"GAH!"

Manami yelped, jumping to sit upright. She frantically looked around the dark room, not immediately recognizing where she was…

The disorientation was overwhelming, and Manami went to hold her head with shaky hands, breathing raggedly.

"Manami?"

Al was quick to notice that something was wrong. He didn't bother waking up his brother as he swift to stand up and go over to Manami's bedside.

"Did something happen? Are you alright?"

She wasn't responding. Al felt himself getting more worried by the second. He couldn't really see her face, but he could hear her panting short and panicked breaths.

Was she… trembling?

He noticed something hanging out of her ear… it looked like a chord? He then realized that there was a solid chance that she couldn't hear him…

What was he supposed to do? He was watching her have a panic attack, but could he help her? What if she looked up and saw him towering over her in the dark—

Not even a second after Al had that thought, Manami did just that. She lifted her head and instantly saw the shadow hovering over her, with glowing red eyes...

"!" And her eyes widened in horror. She instinctively flinched backwards, so harshly that one of her earbuds fell out of her ear.

"I-It's alright, Manami..!" Al whispered, holding his hands up passively. "It's me, Alphonse… you're safe..!"

"... no…" Manami shook her head quickly, making the other earbud fall out of her ear.

"No, no, no, no, I'm _not_ safe…" She whimpered, reaching to pull her knees close to her chest.

"He's not safe..!"

"Who..? You mean Kai..?"

"H-He's in trouble..!" Manami stammered. "Why… why did he call me a liar? What did he— why did he— where…"

Manami couldn't find the words to form a proper sentence, and gave up with another whimper. She moved her hands to tightly grasp her necklace in both hands, and hold it for dear life.

"Calm down..!" Al pleaded. "You just had a bad dream. You have a lot on your mind…"

The suit of armor slowly knelt down by the bed, so that he could be more eye level with her.

Behind them, Ed let out a loud snore, indicating that he hadn't so much as stirred from his sleep this whole time. Al reached to turn on the light. He figured that if Ed hadn't woken up by now, he wouldn't be waking up at all.

"... ugh…" Ed merely groaned and rolled over, facing away from the light, before returning to his snoring.

With a sigh, Al turned to look back at Manami, seeing that she once again had buried her face in her knees. He noticed her trembling shoulders slowly rising and lowering, as she forced herself to take deep breaths.

Eventually, her shoulders stopped shaking, at least as harshly as before. She continued to take slow, even breaths.

The worst seemed to be over.

"..." Al hesitated to ask. "Are you... okay..?"

"..." Manami nodded into her knees, before slowly lifting her head so that she could meet his eye.

"I'm... sorry... th-that you had to see that…"

She looked more tired than she did before she went to bed...

"Oh, don't worry! It's fine." Al assured her, his voice comforting. "Brother used to have the same kinds of dreams when we were young. Sometimes he still does…"

He glanced back to his brother, who seemed to still be sleeping peacefully.

"... I'm… used to things like this."

"Still, I woke you up…" Manami said, making Al look back at her and blink in surprise.

... did she not know?

"No… you didn't." Al said quietly.

"You were already up?" Manami asked, tilting her head.

"Well, um…" Al started. "I don't sleep. I don't sleep because well... I literally can't. Not with this body…"

"Um…" Manami hesitated to speak. "Sorry but... I don't think I understand…"

Al gave a nod, already knowing that she hadn't caught on. She saw the inside of his armor, but… she never asked about it. He could only assume that she figured that it was none of her business— something Ed wished more people did.

"..." He glanced over his shoulder to his brother once more, knowing that Ed wouldn't have approved of him telling Manami their… situation.

Not only was it personal, but it was also something that could get them in a lot of trouble.

Still, Al knew that he and Ed were about to embark on a journey with this girl, so maybe telling her a little about himself would help them get to know each other better… to where she didn't see them as strangers anymore, and could maybe be a little more comfortable around them.

"... it's complicated. But I'll explain as best as I can…" Al finally said, looking back at her.

"This body… as you know, it's just regular hollow armor. The reason I'm able to walk around and talk is because my heart is bound to it."

Al paused for a moment. "I... lost my real body, and brother lost an arm and a leg. What you see on him now are automail; metal prosthetic limbs. He... still blames himself for what happened to both of us."

Manami could only stare in silent disbelief after hearing Al's story. Finally, she managed to muster some words to whisper.

"I'm... so sorry…"

She realized right after saying that, that she should say something more… she looked down and thought for a moment.

"Was that... something that happened while you were in the military..?"

"No," Al shook his head. "It was long before that. The whole reason we even joined the military is because it's our best option if we want to get our bodies back to normal. We... did this to ourselves."

Manami looked down to her lap, sadly. She felt bad for him… she felt bad for both of them...

"I…" She bit her lip. "... being my bodyguard isn't helping you get your bodies back, is it..?"

"That doesn't matter, Manami." Al replied. "Right now, all these worlds are in danger, and getting my body back won't mean anything if I have no world left to return to. It's been years but... I... _we_ can wait a little longer."

Despite what he said, Al didn't sound sad about it. He sounded like he had already thought this through and had set his priorities.

"Right now, you need us more." He told her.

"But…" Manami found herself to be unhappy with that response. "That's not fair."

"Huh?" Al blinked in surprise.

"Why does everything have to be one or the other?" She asked, frowning. "Why does it have to be that you two have to drop everything to follow me around? Why does it have to be that I have to say yes or no to this ultimatum?"

Al found himself unable to answer any of her questions, and averted his eyes.

"You say it doesn't matter, but... it matters to me that you already have something you need to do, but you're—"

The realization had clicked in her mind, making her eyes widen as she finished her sentence.

"... just... as stuck as I am…"

"..." Al looked back to Manami, but still couldn't think of any way to respond.

After all, she hit the nail on the head.

"... sorry…" Manami finally said, after a long pause, and frowned down to her lap.

"I just... I don't get it. If we really have to stick together... shouldn't we be helping each other?"

"But Manami… we are helping each other."

"..?" Manami looked up to the suit of armor with surprise.

"My brother and I are helping you to find your friend and save your world, and you're helping us protect ours." Al told her. "Besides... there's always a chance that we could find the answer we're looking for while we're with you. The Keyblade holds many secrets, and can unlock many more."

"..." Manami smiled a little back at him. "I can only hope that would be the case. I feel pretty lousy at the thought of keeping you away from your goal longer than you need to be."

"I like to think that traveling to these different worlds, with you, will be our best bet to finding what we're looking for." Al replied, a smile in his tone.

Neither of them had noticed that Ed had stopped snoring a while ago. He had actually woken up, but didn't reveal so to the others. He just laid on his side, his back facing them as he silently listened to their conversation, frowning down at the floor.

"But please... don't worry about us, Manami." Al assured the Keyblade Wielder. "We're fine, I promise. If anything, we're more worried about you."

"Yeah... I've been a wreck this whole time, haven't I?" Manami couldn't muster a smile, but she went to rub the back of her head.

"Back home... I was always considered the brave one, between Kai and I. He wouldn't believe it if he saw me now... crying and having panic attacks…" Manami let out a bitter chuckle.

"If he did see you like that, I'm sure he'd have no problem lifting you up and being your strength." Al assured her. "After all, that's what happens sometimes with me and brother, when one of us comes close to giving up."

"Mm…" Manami gave a nod, but found herself thinking of the dream she just had… she couldn't shake this bad feeling she had. She reached to touch her necklace once again.

"... but now… I have no idea where he is." She said quietly. "That dream... I can't shake the feeling that he's in trouble…"

"Wherever he is, you'll find him... and brother and I will help you. That's a promise." Al said.

Manami couldn't help but smile back at him. "Well, if that's the case... I'll help you get your bodies back to normal, and that'll be _my_ promise. That's fair, right?"

Al blinked, but couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He didn't even tell her about equivalent exchange, but she seemed to already have a knack for it.

"Mm…" He hummed, giving her a nod. "I think that's plenty fair. But for now... you should try to get back to sleep."

Manami nodded back to him, going to lay back down under the covers as Al reached to turn off the light. She lay there for a moment in the dark, feeling obligated to say something before Al went back to the other side of the room.

"... um…"

"Oh," Al stopped and turned to look back at her. "Did you need something?"

"No…" Manami shook her head. "I just… I wanted to say… thank you…"

She offered him a small smile. Al nodded, wishing that he could give her a smile in return.

"You're welcome." He said. "Good night, Manami."


	6. Chapter 6

**(Meanwhile, in a secret underground labyrinth…)**

Kai was battling a strange, green-haired androgynous being, making use of a sword he had been given. The blade almost looked like a bat wing, consisting of dark blue and red colors, with what appeared to be an eyeball embedded near the hilt.

Kai's opponent would just dodge every single attack of his, flipping and rolling out of the way of every attack. Frustrated, Kai struck the ground so hard that he created a small fissure, that made his opponent lose balance and stumble backwards. He took advantage of the opening and went in for the attack, but then...

**POW!**

Kai was SLAMMED in the bread basket by the hilt of his opponent's blade, immediately knocking the wind out of him. Kai fell to his knees, holding his stomach as he gasped for air and sweated heavily.

He thought he might throw up...

"You've _gotta_ be kidding... Come on, that was just a love tap. You can't expect me to believe that you go down like that…"

The green-haired being approached Kai and squatted down to be at eye level with him. "I guess it's no wonder she left you behind... all you were gonna do was hold her back."

Kai let out a weak cough, doing his best to push himself to stand up while still holding his stomach with one hand.

"N-No!" He grunted. "M-Manami would never… sh-she'd never…"

Kai felt himself get choked up, and he gritted his teeth as his eyes started to overflow with tears. He did his best to keep from crying, his body trembling, but the tears still spilled from his eyes.

"REALLY? You're crying?!" The green-haired being snickered. "Well, if that's the case, I'll take my leave then. No reason to stick around with a broken man…"

"W-Wait!" Kai cried out, now trying to get back up. "Come back! I-I'm not finished with…"

He couldn't stand back up, and Kai once again fell to his knees, beginning to sob.

He was so confused, alone… and angry at this whole situation.

Meanwhile, a woman in a black dress and a round bald fat man merely watched from the shadows... the woman smiled at the fact that Kai's heart was breaking, while the fat one was hoping that he would get permission to eat him.

"Get up…"

Kai slowly opened his eyes and looked up, seeing an older man in uniform, wearing an eye patch.

He didn't know at the time, but this was King Bradley, the Furher himself.

"Well? Get _up._" The Furher commanded. "I'm not going to offer you my hand. Where's your pride, boy?"

Kai was scared… but he tried to pull back his crying and managed to stand up on his two feet. Not only was he trembling from fear and sadness, but also from immense pain.

"Now that's more like it…" Bradley frowned down at him. "Look at you. If a boy like you was raised where I was, you'd be the first one dead and discarded."

He then went to draw one of his swords. "The only way to survive is to be the best... and so far you're the most pathetic thing I've ever seen. It sickens me... but lucky for you, you do have _some_ potential…"

Bradley glanced over to the fissure that Kai's strike had left earlier. Surely if his previous opponent had been hit by such a blow, it would have actually dealt some hefty damage.

Kai gritted his teeth and held his sword tightly in both hands. He looked tired, but Bradley could see, at the very least, that a fire had started to burn in the boy's eyes.

"Now then... COME AT ME!"

"W-What?" Kai squeaked. "B-But... I can't fight you like this! I... I can barely sta—"

"IF YOU CAN STAND THAN YOU CAN FIGHT!" Bradley yelled. "NOW, COME AT ME!"

Kai trembled as flashbacks of when Manami would defend him from bullies ran through his head. Whenever he was knocked down, she'd always chase them away and help him back up.

But now... she wasn't here.

... maybe she was finally sick of saving him...

Kai squinted his eyes shut and charged at the Furher, yelling out in frustration. He knew that he was just gonna get hurt again… he knew that he doesn't stand a chance...

But, at this point, he knew that he needed to get strong... he had to see her again. He has to ask her why..!

Meanwhile, three more beings were watching Kai from the shadows... a massive, muscular man who was more than twice the size of anyone else present... one normal-sized man sporting a vest and sunglasses... and a small child.

"Hearing him cry and scream... wakes me up... can't sleep... such a pain…" It seemed that the giant man just wanted to sleep...

"I'm just impressed he hasn't wet his pants yet, all things considered." The human-like man scoffed, seeming uninterested.

"His heart is so weak." The child spat, his violet eyes narrowing. "How could he be the chosen one for a Keyblade?"

"Expect the unexpected, kid." The man next to him chuckled.

"Well, no matter... either way, we will toughen him up. Even if we have to break him apart before we rebuild him. It's just a shame we have to hold back, otherwise he'd be dead by now."

"You guys have been holding back on him?" A whistle. "Lucky him, huh? But then again, maybe he'd like to be put out of his misery."

While the three shadows talked amongst themselves, Kai clashed his blade with the Furher's. He was gritting his teeth, swinging his blade as hard as he could, mostly out of frustration.

The Furher blocked everything with ease, but realized that his blades were starting to... chip and crack?

It was obvious… the boy's blows were indeed getting stronger and faster. At this rate, he was going to shatter the blade.

Bradley decided to end the battle in one fell swoop, smashing the handle of his blade into Kai's rib, and then unleashing a blast of wind with the thrust of his sword.

He deliberately missed him with the blade, but the blast still knocked him away, knocking him out cold.

"Is he dead, Lust?" The fat man asked. "Can I eat him?"

"No, Gluttony…" The woman replied, in a low and sultry voice. "But do be a dear and fetch him. I think he's earned just a little rest for now. After all… Father won't be happy if we kill him.

* * *

Manami awoke the next morning, finding herself not in her room… but the guest bedroom at the Hughes residence.

The truth was finally sinking in… what she hoped was just a dream was, in fact, very real.

"..." Manami groaned softly, going to sit up in her bed and rub the sleep out of her eyes.

"Good morning, Manami!"

She looked up to see Al at his respective spot across the room. She noticed that Ed wasn't in the bed beside him. Maybe he went to freshen up?

Manami opened her mouth to say hello, but the door opened and Maes walked in before she could.

"Mornin' Manami! Sleep well?" He greeted her, stepping inside the room. He wore a soldier's uniform and held a mug of coffee in his hand.

"Just checking up on you before I get ready to go back to Central Command. Think you kids might need a lift? Or do you need more time to think things over?"

It took Manami a second to understand what he meant.

"Oh…" Her expression hardened a little. "... no, I think I've made my decision."

"Great!" Maes beamed. "What'cha decide?"

"Uh... isn't that technically confidential?" Manami chuckled nervously. "I think your boss should be the first to know…"

"'Furher' is what we call him." Maes corrected her, but nicely. "But, yeah, you're probably right. That be the case, I'll bring you kids over to Headquarters so you don't have to walk."

Before Manami could thank him, Gracia stepped in the room with Elicia.

"Good morning. Manami, I washed your clothes for you. Elicia dear, can you give them to her?"

"Yes mommy!" The young girl took the neatly folded clothes from her mother and crossed the room to hand them to Manami.

"Here you go, Nami!" She beamed.

"Heh…" Manami couldn't help but smile as she reached to take the clothes from her. "Thank you very much, Elicia."

Al internally smiled at the sight of them. It was nice to see Manami smile...

From behind him, he heard a sniffle. He turned to look and saw Maes tearing up at the sight of the girls.

"They're so cute... they could be sisters..!"

"I'm going to get ready, then…" Manami hadn't noticed Maes, and went to get up. She took the clean clothes with her out of the room and down the hall to the bathroom where she had showered the night prior.

As she neared the door, it opened.

"..?"

She stopped at the sight of Ed stepping out of the bathroom. He was dressed in the same outfit and red coat, reaching behind his head to tie his hair back while he held a hair tie in his teeth.

He stopped at the sight of Manami standing in front of him.

"... mornin'." He greeted her, despite still holding the hair tie with his teeth.

"..." Manami gave him a small nod. "Good morning."

The two stood there in awkward silence, until Manami finally stepped to the side to allow Ed to pass her. She watched silently as he stepped past her and returned to the guest bedroom they all spent the night in.

It was easier to talk to Al for sure, but Ed was just as stuck with her. The problem was that Manami wasn't quite sure how to really... get along with Ed yet.

She dismissed the thought with a shrug and went into the bathroom so that she could get ready. When she finished, she stared at her reflection in the mirror for a long moment.

She knew what her decision was... it wasn't like she had much choice, but... at least she had time to think about it at all.

She was now nervous as to where things would go from here.

"..." Manami took a deep breath through her nose, then let it out through her mouth. She then frowned at her reflection and pointed to it.

"You got this."

Back home, whenever Manami was nervous or scared about something, she would have a pep talk with her reflection. Sometimes, it helped her feel better…

It didn't really, now.

Knock, knock.

"!" Manami jumped, startled back to reality.

"Hey, Manami." Maes's voice spoke, muffled from behind the bathroom door. "Just letting you know that we have some breakfast on the table. You don't wanna face the Furher on an empty stomach, do you? Don't be afraid to join us when you're done in there."

"... o-okay…" Manami replied.

Breakfast did sound nice…

* * *

Having breakfast together, Manami sharing the table with the Hughes family, and the Elrics, was probably the best moment so far in Amestris.

Everyone seemed to really appreciate her company, and… for a moment, Manami forgot about the things that scared her; it almost felt like she was part of a family gathering, even though she wasn't related to any of them.

Even after the meal ended, Manami was in probably her best spirits since she got here. As Maes went to bring Manami, Ed, and Al to his car, Manami blurted out something.

"SHOTGUN!" She beamed.

"Huh?!" Ed and Al gasped.

"What?! Where?!" Maes looked around. "I thought I kept that in the house in case anyone tries to lay a finger on my daughter!"

Manami and the Elric brothers stared at him in an awkward silence.

"... What?" Maes asked.

"... I just wanted to sit in the front seat…" Manami said quietly, realizing now that Amestrians clearly didn't use the term "shotgun" to call dibs.

"Oh, then why didn't you say so?" Maes laughed.

"I-It's just a thing we say on my world…" Manami explained, now feeling sheepish

"What does that have to do with shotguns?!" Ed asked.

"Maybe they threaten each other with shot guns to see who'll get the front seat?" Al mused.

"No..!" Manami insisted, getting more embarrassed by the second. "I-It's just an expression..!"

* * *

After Maes drove them to Central Command, he left them under the care and supervision of Roy Mustang, who then made the phone call for the Furher to inform him that they had arrived.

Manami sat on one of Roy's couches, staring down at her hands folded tightly in her lap. Despite that she knew what she was going to say, her heart was still beating harshly in her chest. Ed and Al sat on the other couch across from her, also awkwardly waiting. No one wanted to say anything.

**Ring! Ring!**

Manami jumped at the sudden sound, and looked up to see Roy answer his phone.

"Colonel Roy Mustang speaking. Yes... yes... right away." He hung up the phone, then looked to Manami and the Elric brothers.

"The Furher is ready for you three in his office to discuss the ultimatum." He looked over to Riza, standing beside his desk.

"Lieutenant? Could you escort them?"

"Yes sir."

And with that, Manami followed behind Riza, the Elric brothers following behind Manami, to walk through the base and to the Furher's office. His office was a little far away and on the top most floor but it made sense, considering how important he was.

They approached a set of wide double doors, which Riza opened for them and gestured inside. Manami swallowed nervously and stepped inside, followed by the Elric brothers, and then Riza.

Manami noticed immediately how different the Furher's office was from Roy Mustang's. To start, it was a much bigger room than any other she had been in. It also contained nicer quality furniture, extravagant to where it might as well have been a throne room.

"So Manami, I hear from Colonel Mustang that you've made a decision."

Manami looked up to see the same man she met yesterday. Furher King Bradley…

"I'm quite impressed, you were able to come to one faster than expected. Please, take a seat right in front of my desk. I'm curious about everything you have to say."

As Manami slowly began to approach his desk, Bradley looked up to Riza. "Oh, You may leave them here and resume your other duties, Lieutenant. I'll take things from here."

Manami looked back to see Riza saluting her Furher before leaving the room and shutting the doors behind her with a loud click. She turned back to face Bradley and slowly went to sit in the chair in front of him. Ed stepped to Manami's left while Al stood to her right.

Bradley put his elbows on his desk and folded his hands together as he stared at her with his one and only eye, as if he were already judging her. Manami felt herself already getting intimidated; it was like this look he was giving her was telling her, "mind your tongue, child."

Manami opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Ed and Al both looked at her out of the corners of their eyes.

"..." Manami took a deep breath before trying to speak again.

"With all due respect... there was only one real answer."

Bradley merely raised his eyebrows, allowing her to continue.

"This is all new to me... darkness, Heartless, Keyblades... but, for whatever reason, I'm chosen as a wielder. And... as it stands, I'm the only one... right?"

"That's correct." Bradley nodded.

"..." Manami nodded slowly. "I... just have one question, before I say my answer… sir."

"Yes?"

"..." She took another deep breath. "You said yesterday, if I were to say no to this ultimatum, that would make me your enemy. My question is... how would you intend to fight the darkness and save these worlds... if you were enemies with only Keyblade wielder you've found?"

"?!" Ed and Al's eyes widened in shock.

_"Why is she asking that?!"_ They both thought.

_"WHY DID I JUST ASK THAT?!"_ Manami was internally kicking herself, but somehow she was managing to keep her composure outwardly.

Bradely didn't say anything for a long moment, only giving her a very intense stare. The dreadful silence made Ed break out into a cold sweat. Heck, it was making Manami begin to sweat. She considered taking back her question, before…

The Furher suddenly let out a hearty laugh, which surprised everyone.

"How very astute!" He laughed.

"As I said, a Keyblade is a powerful weapon. With it, one can close the very holes through reality that the Heartless pour in from, but it's also possible they can open more and bring entire worlds to ruin." Bradley explained. "At some point in your life, you could literally become powerful enough to plunge entire worlds into darkness— like with what happened to your world. I think you can see why we can't risk you going down the wrong path."

With that, he unfolded his hands and rested them on the arms of his chair.

"The truth is that our ability to deal with these threats are limited." He continued. "We've developed ways of sealing these 'holes' where the Heartless emerge using magic and alchemy. However, such seals are not only just temporary, but the resources and power needed are costly... and the manner to go about it is tedious at best. A Keyblade is more efficient for both sealing and locating key holes."

Manami said nothing, processing everything the Furher was telling her.

"So, to answer your question... we'd go about fighting the darkness the same way we have for years, but we'd also have to look for another Keyblade wielder who will act quickly and not doom us all."

"..." Manami nodded once more. "I see…"

She looked down to her lap, thinking for a moment before speaking. "Well... I'm not here to make enemies, or doom anyone."

She clenched her hands tightly in her lap. "I know my world was lost, but... others were too, weren't they? If I'm the only one you have who can turn things around... who can defeat the darkness and restore the worlds…"

Manami took another deep breath and then lifted her head, so she could look Bradley in the eye.

"Then... I have to accept your offer."

Bradley's lips curled into a smile.

"... but…" Manami spoke up, making Bradley's smile immediately fade.

"Yes?" He asked, in a tone that didn't show any sign of impatience.

"Along with that mission, I have two more that I want to undertake... sir."

"Oh?" Bradley hummed. "And what will those additional missions be?"

"... when I lost my world... I also lost my best friend, Kai." Manami frowned. "I got word that he escaped when our world was destroyed... which means that he's somewhere out there. My first mission is that I need to find him."

She then glanced to Ed and Al before looking back to Bradley. "These two had obligations of their own before being assigned to be my bodyguards... I'd like for my second mission to be to helping them reach their goal, too."

"?!" Ed and Al looked down at her, eyes wide.

"As long as you swear to never use your power to attack the military you serve, the world we stand on, or ANY worlds... you're free to do whatever you please when you're between assignments." Bradley told her, before Ed and Al could object.

"I've already allowed the Elrics to search for information on their bodies on the side, and I shall grant you the same courtesy." He assured her, then reached in his desk to pull out a document.

"But…" Bradley's expression darkened. "The moment you need to be summoned— whether it's due to a crisis or something as simple as answering questions— it is mandatory that you return."

Bradley set down the document on the desk, and slid it across to Manami.

It was… a contract.

"Feel free to take your time reading before you sign. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Manami swallowed thickly at the sight of the contract, but picked it up to read over. Seeing all of this in writing had made her more nervous than ever before.

Still, she read the contract all the way through, and slowly picked up the pen that Bradley had also provided her. Ed and Al watched her closely, still standing at attention for the Furher. They could see the hand she's holding the pen with trembling a little...

Manami knew that she had to sign... not only were multiple worlds depending on her, but she had to find Kai... there was no other way to do those things than by joining the Amestrian military.

But still… she couldn't shake this bad feeling.

"..." Finally, Manami gripped her pen tightly and signed her name on the line at the bottom of the page. Once she finished signing, an empty feeling washed over her… causing her to let the pen fall out of her hand onto the desk with a light tap.

Ed frowned a little, while Al looked down to his feet. They both had felt guilty for her, but now… seeing that hopeless look in her eyes as she signed her life away...

They recalled feeling similar when they joined the military… but, the difference was that they joined the military on their own accord.

Manami didn't have a choice.

"Congratulations. You are now officially part of the Amestrian Military." Bradley announced, taking back the document.

"You will be serving and protecting not just our world, but numerous worlds during your travels. Welcome aboard, Manami! Your training starts this afternoon."

"Wait, already?" Al asked, realizing afterwards that he was speaking out of place.

"Exactly as I said." Bradley confirmed. "Would you boys please escort our new Keyblade Wielder to the courtyard at noon? We already have her training session scheduled. We'll begin things with some magic training so she can begin to unlock the Keyblade's power, and then some sword training to further her combat prowess."

"Sword training?" Al asked.

"Magic training?" Ed followed up.

"Yes." Bradley answered. "She has been assigned two teachers to oversee each form of training."

There was a long pause, before Ed and Al suddenly hunched over, as if they were sulking.

Manami swore she could hear Al let out a whimper.

"... AHEM." Bradley cleared his throat, the sound making Ed and Al snap to stand back at attention and firmly salute.

"R-Right!" Ed exclaimed. "We'll be sure to take her to meet our— er, her— teachers later today!"

_"Our scary, scary teachers…"_ Both Elrics were thinking.

Manami watched as Ed struggled to keep a straight demeanor, but his eyebrow kept twitching. Plus, he was starting to sweat.

Still, she wasn't surprised at the news that she'd be getting started on training quickly. In fact, she was expecting it.

"You're dismissed." Bradley announced.

And with that, Ed and Al walked ahead and each opened one of the double doors, waiting for Manami to exit before following her out.

Once the door shut behind them, Manami let out a pent up breath that sounded more like a wheeze.

"Ahhh…" She whined. "That was stressful…"

While she took a moment to compose herself, Ed looked up to Al, who returned his glance.

"..." Al leaned down to whisper to his brother while Manami's back was turned to them.

"Maybe they'll go easy on her once they see she's the Keyblade wielder? ... Hopefully?"

"Don't count on it…" Ed whispered back, but leaned away from his brother the moment Manami turned to face them.

"Well... we have some time to spare… anything you have in mind that you'd like or need to do?" Ed asked her.

"Nope…" Manami shrugged, seemingly indifferent.

Ed expected to see a more sad expression on her face, but she actually seemed to be taking all of this better today.

"I know!" Al chimed in. "Why don't we introduce Manami to Winry and Granny Pinako?"

"Good idea, Al!" Ed smiled at his brother. "I might need a tune up for my automail, and we gotta make sure our ship is in working condition."

"I'm sure Winry would wanna meet Manami too."

Both brothers looked to Manami, who still wore a neutral expression, but she gave a nod to them.

"Sure," She said. "Lead the way."

* * *

Manami quietly followed Ed and Al through Central HQ to what looked like a garage. She stopped at the sight of a big space ship, and stared at it.

"That's our Gummi Ship!" Al stepped beside her. "You... probably didn't get to take a good look at it before…"

Manami let out a weak chuckle as Al rubbed the back of his head, both recalling their last time in the Gummi Ship not being a particularly positive experience.

"Well, I know that it moves fast.." Manami smiled sheepishly.

"Hey, Winry! Granny! We're back!" Ed called to the ship, and it wasn't until someone rolled out from under the ship on a creeper that Manami realized Ed was talking to them.

The stranger sat up and flipped up their wielder's mask to reveal a girl with bright blue eyes and blonde hair. Manami then noticed someone walk out from behind the ship to join her, someone even shorter than Ed. It was an old woman...

"Edward!" The mechanic got up from her creeper and approached them with a smile… until she got within range of Ed to WHACK him over the head with the wrench she held in her hand.

"?!" Manami's eyes widened in shock.

"GAH!" Ed yelped in pain, stepping back and holding his head. "What was that for?!"

"Where _were_ you?!" The girl yelled at him. "I heard that you and Al barely escaped from a world literally swallowed by Darkness, and you don't even come to let us know you're alright? REALLY?!"

"Oh come on, we got out of it okay! We're fine!" Ed argued. "And the Gummi Ship is in one piece too! And it's not like we didn't check in on purpose, we've been occupied ever since we got back—"

"Whatever, just give me your arm." The girl muttered, yanking Ed by the prosthetic and shoving his sleeve up his arm so that she could inspect it closely.

Manami watched as the girl pulled Ed aside, but then noticed the old lady approaching her.

"So, you must be the Keyblade Wielder they found." The elderly woman said, holding a long pipe in her hand. "I'm sorry about what happened to your world... at the very least, I trust the boys have been taking good care of you?

"Uh… yeah, they have…" Manami answered, putting on a small smile.

She wondered to herself how Ed and Al knew these two… the girl was also blonde, and they called this old lady "Granny." Were they all related?

"My name is Manami." She introduced herself, bowing her head politely.

"Pleased to meet you, dear. I'm Pinako. WINRY!" Pinako barked to the blonde mechanic who was still looking at Ed's arm. "Come introduce yourself to Manami. You can fiddle and tinker with Ed's arm and leg after."

"Huh?" The one known as "Winry" looked up and noticed Manami standing with Pinako and Al.

"Oh!" She quickly got up, leaving Ed sitting at her work station as she approached Manami, chuckling a little in embarrassment at the fact that she neglected arguably the most important person in the room.

"Eheheh, sorry... Edward has a habit of busting his automail or his Gummi Ship, so I just needed to make sure that nothing was broken this time!" She apologized.

"I only crashed the gummi ship ONCE!" Ed barked.

"And how many times did you break your automail?" Winry snapped back, and Ed turned his head in silent defeat.

"Thank you." Winry looked back to Manami and extended a hand to shake. "It's an honor to meet you. I'm Winry Rockbell. Granny Pinako and I are Ed and Al's personal mechanics and engineers!"

"Nice to meet you, too." Manami smiled back at her.

It was a little comforting that there was at least a girl her age around...

"So... are you Ed and Al's sister?" She asked.

"Huh? Me? Oh NO!" Winry burst out laughing.

"You're not far off, though." Pinako said. "They've been friends since they were born. Though, I did practically raise you boys…"

"Oh, I see." Manami nodded in understanding.

Ed's eyes narrowed. He knew that Manami didn't know much about their past, and he saw this conversation possibly going in that direction…

He decided to change the subject.

"Anyway…" He pushed himself on the wheels of his chair to roll across the room to be with the group. "We've been staying at Mr. and Mrs. Hughes' place…"

"Oh really?" Winry perked up. "I should visit... I haven't seen Elicia in a while!"

Manami found herself to be not paying as much attention to the conversation, but instead staring at Ed's prosthetic arm.

This whole time, he was wearing long sleeves and gloves— she didn't even know his arm and leg were prosthetics until Al told her last night, but... now she was actually seeing it for the first time.

Winry had noticed Manami staring at it first, and grinned at her. "You like it? I made it myself!"

"Huh? Oh!" Manami got a little flustered at the fact that she got caught staring, which probably was considered rude…

"Y-Yeah! You really made all that?"

"Uh-huh." Winry nodded. "As well as his leg, as well as all the limbs he's destroyed thus far…"

Winry shot Ed a glare, but he once again turned his head to avoid seeing it.

"Um…" Manami blinked. "Destroyed how?"

"Well... Al and I have kind of... run into some trouble here and there while we were on our journey before we met you." Ed explained, once again finding himself to be too close to the topic he was trying to avoid.

"That or it just got damaged when we were on assignments for the military. I mean, these things happen, but that's why I have Winry!" He let out a nervous laugh.

"How can you say that so casually?" Winry asked, approaching him. "Do you _forget_ how much time, work, and effort I put into every single arm and leg I make for you? What? You think that gives you an excuse to just keep breaking them!?" She waved her wrench in his face, as a warning, then looked back to Manami.

"You know how many times this BEAN came back to us and his automail was in pieces, or worse: he had NO automail at all?"

"WHAT? No!" Ed shook his head. "I'm not using this as an excuse to keep breaking them! I just know I can count on you, that's all! Wait... DID YOU JUST CALL ME A BEAN!?"

Manami couldn't help but smile nervously as the two blondes argued. Al looked down to Manami, sparking his own topic of conversation.

"Don't worry, they usually argue like this. Anyway, automail's pretty neat, huh?"

"Yeah." Manami said with a nod. "To be fair, we have the same thing in my world, too. I always thought it was neat to give someone something like that."

"Huh?" Winry looked up from her and Ed's banter. "You have automail?!"

"Well, it wasn't called 'automail' specifically, but... if you mean prosthetics, yeah. Like…"

Manami paused to reach in her pocket and pull out her cell phone. In times like this, Manami would access Moogle to look something up, but… she was instead welcomed to the "NO SERVICE" message at the top of her phone screen.

_"That's right… there's no data here in Amestris." _She thought to herself.

Manami looked up to see Winry staring at the strange device in her hand.

"What is that..?"

"Everyone was carrying one of those around in her world." Ed mumbled, crossing his arms.

"Well, it's not much here... but at home, this was a cell phone." Manami explained, holding it up to show Winry.

"Can I see..?" Winry's eyes sparkled, but Manami couldn't help but see the wrench in one of her hands still and feel a little nervous.

"Uh... I mean, it doesn't have its full capabilities here…" She explained. "It's just camera and music player... there's not a whole lot to look at."

"THAT TINY THING IS A CAMERA AND IT PLAYS MUSIC!" Winry squealed in excitement. "I have to see how it works! Such a small, sleek, portable device!"

Manami began to sweat at the sight of small screwdrivers that appeared in between Winry's fingers, like claws...

"Wait! Manami didn't say you could take it apart!" Al interjected.

"Oh, but we're friends, right?" Winry gave Manami a pleading look. "I promise I'll put it back together! I'm really careful when it comes to taking things apart and putting them back together. I mean, if I can repair an advanced ship made for space travel, certainly I can repair something as simple as a... what did you call it? A 'cell phone?'"

"Knock it off, will you Winry?" Ed sighed heavily. "That phone thing is very important to Manami. Besides, you're supposed to be checking out my arm."

Despite saying this, Ed was already back in his spot next to the work station, Pinako looking over his automail leg.

"Sorry, but... he's right…" Manami said quietly, holding her phone to her chest. "Right now, this is the only thing I have from home…"

"Oh, right…" Winry looked down, feeling guilty that she had asked in the first place. "I'm sorry…"

"..." Still, Manami felt bad for saying no. "How about this, when I restore my world, I'll bring you another one to take apart and not have to sweat putting it back together. Would that be okay..?"

"YOU MEAN IT?!" Winry suddenly grabbed both of Manami's hands to hold with her own, stars shining in her eyes.

"Oh, thank you Manami! You really are pure hearted!"

"HEY! Weren't you going to be looking at your craftsmanship, Miss Mechanic?" Ed asked impatiently.

"Alright, alright!" Winry rolled her eyes and let Manami's hands go and joined her grandmother to work on Ed's automail arm.

Manami watched Winry and Pinako as they talked a bunch of mechanical jargon, questioning Ed about what he had been doing, as well as the automail's functionality.

"Want a tour of the Gummi Ship?" Al offered, and Manami nodded.

She followed the suit of armor to step inside the rocket ship, and she was quick to notice that it was rather spacious. There were three pilot seats in the cock pit, and behind them was a small living quarter, where there were two sets of bunk beds across from each other. Right now, the top bunks seemed to hold boxes full of what Manami assumed were rations and other essentials.

She couldn't help but think of how strange and out of place it was for a world that seemed to be so far behind in technology... to have something this advanced.

"Huh…" She hummed aloud, still looking around.

Manami pulled back the curtain of one of the bottom bunks to see that it seemed to be already occupied. Not only were the sheets wrinkled, but there were also a couple stacks of books at the foot of the bed.

She closed the curtain and investigated the other bottom bunk, across the small walkway.

"This would be where you sleep." Al said, watching her as she sat down.

"Seems cozy." Manami noticed a window, but its cover was shut.

"Do these open? I mean… not totally open, but…"

"Yeah." Al chuckled as Manami pushed the cover up and looked out to the window, seeing Ed still with Winry and Pinako below them.

"Brother says that looking out into space is actually a pretty relaxing way to go to sleep... I wouldn't know, I'm afraid, but you could give it a try!"

Manami smiled a little. "Yeah... I'm looking forward to it."

With that, she stood up from the bed and closed the curtain to the small cot.

"I just have one question…" She looked up to the suit of armor. "This is a pretty interesting space ship, to say the least... considering you guys didn't know what a cell phone was, how do you have the technology to make something like this? Like... what year is it here, anyway?"

"Well, this technology isn't from our world." Al answered. "We've actually formed an alliance with another word who've shared their Gummi Ship technology with us, and they taught us how we could utilize alchemy with it. Still, even we don't 100% understand it yet."

Al paused, remembering Manami's other question. "Oh, the year? It's 1914. Why? What year is it in your world?"

"Wow," Manami blinked. "In our world, it's 2019…"

"That's amazing!" Al exclaimed. "If your technology is that advanced, I could only imagine what new ways to utilize alchemy your world has uncovered in that time, or what new kinds of magic you've all mastered for that matter!

"Actually…" Manami rubbed the back of her head. "There isn't alchemy in our world… well, nothing like what you have here, anyway."

"Really?" Al blinked.

"Mhm... and I'm pretty sure we call it 'chemistry' in our world. There's no flashy sparks or anything though, its more like... mixing different stuff in test tubes in a lab?"

At least, that was how she always thought chemistry was...

"Huh…" Al crossed his arms as he thought for a moment. "That is how alchemy kind of came to be, at least according to the older texts... before it was radically changed 400 years ago. There are rumors that it came from other worlds entirely. Considering that brother and I have been searching for answers, we're hoping to find them as we explore new worlds."

"..." Manami offered him a small smile. "Yeah. I hope so, too."


	7. Chapter 7

Manami noticed that the closer they got to noon, the more outwardly nervous the Elric brothers appeared to be. Even as they arrived at the entrance to the courtyard, they fell behind her, allowing her to walk ahead.

After a few steps, Manami whipped around, managing to catch a split second of fear washed over Ed's expression, before he quickly tried to hide it.

"What's up with you two?" She asked, frowning. "You're acting weird."

"Weird?" Ed put on a smile that wasn't even convincing. "What are you talking about? Everything's fine!"

"Nope, nothing weird about us!" Al added, his tone a pitch higher than normal.

"Look," Ed pointed. "There's y-your teacher!"

Manami looked over her shoulder to see a woman standing in the middle of the courtyard. Her arms were crossed, and she didn't seem to be in a good mood.

"..."

"Go say hi, Manami!"

"We'll be over here cheering you on!"

Manami looked back to see that Ed and Al had moved back towards the entrance.

"Wait," She turned her back to the stranger, prepared to chase the boys. "Where are you going?!"

From behind her, Manami's new teacher cocked her eyebrow.

"And WHERE do you two think you're going?" She barked.

Ed and Al froze.

"_Busted…"_

As the Elric brothers slowly shuffled back to her side, Manami turned to face the woman, who had uncrossed her arms and was approaching them.

The woman stopped in front of them, glaring down at Ed and Al before looking over Manami, her expression unfaltering.

"So... you're the new Keyblade Wielder." She said. "Manami is it? I am Izumi Curtis."

"N-Nice to meet you…" Manami said, trying to put on a brave front as she bowed politely to her new teacher.

"Normally I refuse to accept pupils or even associate with the military... but, given the current circumstances, I unfortunately had to make an exception." Izumi said with a sigh.

"So, I'm going to be your magic instructor. Understand so far?"

Manami quickly nodded, still a little intimidated. "Y-Yes ma'am, I'll do my best!"

"Good." Izumi nodded in approval. "Then let's begin. Summon your Keyblade, please."

"You got it!"

Ed and Al stepped away from Manami to give her room, as she extended her arm and opened her hand.

"..." But, nothing happened.

"... well?" Izumi's frown grew deeper.

The tension only made Ed and Al _more_ nervous.

"Sorry! U-Uh..!" Manami began to sweat herself, waving her hand expectantly.

Still, her hand remained empty.

"H-Heh…" Manami let out a weak chuckle. "Nerves, y'know?"

Izumi was clearly unimpressed.

"Come _on!" _Manami whipped her arm out one more time...

FLASH!

The Keyblade finally appeared in her hand. She, nor the Elric brothers, could contain a sigh out of pure relief.

"It's obvious you barely understand the thing." Izumi muttered, only letting out a sigh of impatience.

"A Keyblade is a weapon composed of magic, but powered by one's heart and summoned by their will." She explained. "Our first step is going to be teaching you how to summon and de-summon your Keyblade at your command. If you can't manage something as simple as that, you will be struck down at the start of a fight— and my two pupils will NOT always be there to pick up your slack!"

Manami flinched at that harsh fact, only revealing her nervousness more.

"Now then... think of the Keyblade as a literal extension of yourself and de-summon it. Like the claws of a cat receding back into it's paw."

"O-Okay…" Manami stammered, nervously looking down to the weapon in her hand.

"The first step is to remain focused." Izumi reminded her, calmly. "As you said, your nerves are affecting the connection between your heart and the Keyblade."

"Right…" Manami closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she let the breath out of her mouth, the Keyblade disappeared from her hand with a small flash of light.

Manami opened her eyes once she felt the weight of the weapon disappear from her hand. "Hey, I did it!"

"Good." Izumi nodded. "Now then... Your next task will be to summon the Keyblade in the heat of battle."

"Huh—"

Izumi clapped her hands, and Ed and Al gasped. They both tried to warn her, but Izumi had already touched the ground. Sparks flew across the courtyard to Manami, and she could only watch as the earth below her feet was brought up to form shackles around her ankles.

"?!" She was anchored down to the spot she stood!

"I'm going to be attacking you... your job will be to summon the Keyblade and deflect my attacks."

"HUH?!" Manami looked up from her feet at Izumi with wide eyes.

"Also, you are forbidden from dodging. And just in case you do…"

Izumi clapped her hands once more, and Manami squinted her eyes shut as she braced for something, anything… but instead, she heard Ed grunt from behind her.

"Brother!" Al cried.

"HEY! Why am I being dragged into this?!"

Manami opened her eyes and looked behind her to see Ed bound to a post, constricted by the same earth that held her own feet down. But, Ed's hands were also bound behind his back.

"If you dodge, the attacks will go past you and hit Edward." Izumi said. "If you wish to ensure that both of you won't get hurt, you'll have no choice but to deflect the attacks! Are we clear?"

"_This woman is crazy!" _Manami barely had time to have that thought as Izumi clapped her hands once more, touching the ground to summon rocks to throw at her.

But yet, as the rock approached Manami, she realized that it also was on _fire._

"!" Manami gave into her instinct and hunched down, allowing the small fireball to shoot past her and hit Ed on the leg.

Of course, not the one made out of automail.

"Ow!" Ed yelped. It wasn't anything serious, but that didn't mean that it _didn't_ hurt.

"I-I'm sorry!" Manami made the mistake of looking back to Ed as she apologized. "I-It's instinct to— OW!"

She looked back to hold where she was pelted in the shoulder.

"PAY ATTENTION!"

"Okay, okay!" Manami grunted in frustration, and then Izumi shot another fireball. She opened her hand to summon the Keyblade… but it didn't come.

WHACK! She took a second fireball to the thigh.

"Manami!" Al cried. "Teacher, this is insane!"

"REALLY insane!" Ed struggled in his bind.

Izumi ignored both of them and summoned another fireball to shoot. Manami closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the thought of holding the Keyblade…

But, nothing came, and felt herself giving up as she heard the fireball come closer, lowering her head in defeat.

WHACK!

"Ghh…" This fireball had hit her on the side of the head, and she groaned as she went to hold it.

Izumi's eyes narrowed at the sight of her.

"I won't stop just because you gave up."

With that, she clapped her hands once more, throwing three small fireballs this time.

Manami's eyes widened at the sight, but she gritted her teeth. It was now or never…

The first two fireballs hit her, but she suddenly felt a surge of energy course through her. The Keyblade appeared in her hand, and she gripped it firmly in both hands as she smacked the third fireball away.

"Ha… I did it!" Manami panted, already having broken a sweat.

"Don't celebrate just yet." Izumi shook her head. "You're going to have to keep going until you can do it at least 10 times in a row without missing!"

"... huh?" Manami's smile disappeared.

"WHAT!?" Ed cried.

"But Manami's been hit by so many attacks so far... there's no way she can keep it up!" Al argued.

"Do you really think I'm using my full power?" Izumi asked. "Not only is this the weakest fire spell I know, but I've modified it to make certain that it doesn't burn her alive. I can't teach her _any_ magic if she has no endurance or stamina."

Izumi once again clapped her hands.

"The best way to build up endurance and stamina… is to be pushed to past your limits. Otherwise, you gain _nothing_."

Manami felt the sting of that last sentence, and swallowed thickly at the thought of all of this… being for nothing.

"NOW, KEEP AT IT, MANAMI!"

Manami looked up in horror as Izumi threw not one, not three, but _five_ fireballs at once. She raised her Keyblade and managed to hit the first fireball, but was hit by the second and third, the fourth hitting Ed, and the fifth hitting Manami once again.

"That's a reset! Ten times in a row without missing, go!"

"Come _on..!" _Manami gritted her teeth, frustrated.

She slashed one, two, _three_ fireballs away… and got excited. So much so, that she missed the next two and took both hits.

"Ow..!" She hissed.

"_Has this girl seriously never fought before..?"_ Izumi thought to herself, summoning five more fireballs. "_Why did the Keyblade choose someone so... inexperienced..?"_

She watched as Manami then managed to deflect all five of the fireballs she just threw. And while Izumi threw another five, Manami managed to hit two, but then moved to be _in the way_ of any fireballs she failed to hit... so that Ed no longer took damage.

"_Hmm... she does show perseverance."_

And eventually, after multiple tries, Manami smacked the tenth fireball away with a loud yell.

"HYAH!"

She hunched over, her legs wobbly as she panted. "That's… that's ten…"

"Good. That'll do for now…" Izumi clapped her hands and touched the ground, retracting the earth that had bound Manami and Ed throughout this exercise.

Manami's wobbly legs gave out and she fell to her knees, still trying to catch her breath.

"You alright?" Ed asked as he and Al approached her.

"Y-Yeah… tired…" Manami lifted her hand to give them a weak thumbs up.

"_They make it look so easy to wield a sword in video games…" _She thought.

"Manami managed to master that pretty quickly, didn't she, Teacher?" Al looked up to Izumi.

"Not really." She shook her head and crossed her arms. "We spent so much time on this, that I don't even have time to teach her any basics of spells."

"..." Manami didn't have the energy to say anything, but she felt terrible.

"..." Izumi sighed. "But you were able to pass. Take that victory for today. Just know that this was merely the first step to using magic, as well as your Keyblade... tomorrow I will teach you the basics of spells and spell casting."

With that, Izumi clapped her hands once more. Manami looked up, worried that she was attacking again, but saw that she was instead making a big, green bubble appear in her hands.

"..?" Manami flinched back as the bubble touched her, but immediately felt a rush of relief. All the burns on her skin disappeared, and she had energy again!

"Whoa…" Manami looked over herself, confirming that all the burns and scrapes from the battle were, in fact, gone.

She was healed!

"Your next teacher will NOT be as merciful as I'm being. You'll need your strength for what's up ahead…"

"Um… Teacher?" Ed asked. "Aren't you going to heal me, too?"

"I seem to recall that I taught you healing spells and medical alchemy, Edward." Izumi crossed her arms.

"R-Right! How silly of me to forget!" Ed laughed nervously and clapped his hands.

Manami watched in amazement as a green bubble formed in Ed's hands. The bubble touched him, making his body glow for a moment, and the burns and scrapes he had disappeared too!

"You're dismissed. And…" Izumi turned her back to them and started to walk away. "Good luck."

Manami and the Elric brothers watched her go, before Manami slowly pushed herself to stand with a grunt.

"You okay, Manami..?" Al asked her.

"Yeah… I guess so…" She mumbled, frowning down at her feet.

"_I need good luck for the next teacher?"_ She thought. "_What was this considered, a picnic?"_

"... she's coming." She snapped back to reality when she heard Ed speak, and looked over her shoulder to see someone walking out to the courtyard, passing Izumi.

Just her presence alone brought a chill to everyone... _especially _Alphonse.

Another woman, but with long blonde hair. She wore a soldier's uniform with a sheathed saber on her side, sporting an even deeper frown than Izumi had.

Manami swallowed thickly when the woman stopped in front of her, raising a hand to give a weak wave. "H-Hello…"

The woman just glared down at her, saying nothing.

"Um…" Manami dropped her hand back to her side. "Heh... okay…"

The way this woman was looking down at her… she looked disappointed. As if she was expecting more. Seeing that a mere child was chosen to wield the Keyblade…

Manami felt like this woman could just _breathe_ and it would knock her down.

"Listen here," The woman finally spoke. "I am Major General Olivier Mira Armstrong. I am here to personally train you in the art of weapons combat, Manami Mitsuko."

Manami's eyes widened in surprise. She knew her last name?

"Considering the Keyblade likely chose you during a moment of chance, I'm going to assume that you've had no prior training. Just know that I will NOT coddle you; I'm going to train you the Briggs way! ARE WE CLEAR?"

"Y-Yes ma'am… I'll do my best!" Manami squeaked.

Al shivered, having flashbacks of his own intense training with Olivier. While he and Ed had both trained with both teachers, Al was trained extensively by Olivier to accelerate his progress in armed combat.

Before Manami could say anything, Olivier suddenly unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Manami, the tip an inch away from her nose at most.

"GAH!" Manami flinched and took a step back.

"Your best won't be good enough." Olivier snarled. "On this journey, you'll have to be **THE** best!"

Manami was already sweating. She held out her hand and, thankfully, the Keyblade appeared in her hand without a problem.

That was the only thing she had to show for her training so far...

"Now then…" Olivier pulled her blade back, but got in a battle-ready stance. "Come at me."

"Huh?" Manami blinked.

"It's clear you can't defend to literally save your life, not that I expect anything differently from a _novice._" Olivier spat. "So let's see how well your offensive ability is."

Manami scowled, readying herself to charge.

"HYAH!" Manami lunged forward, slashing the Keyblade, but Olivier dodged easily.

"Huh?!" She turned to catch a glimpse of Olivier attacking, and she held up the Keyblade in front of her, managing to block the blow.

Still, Olivier stomped down on Manami's foot, making her yelp out in pain.

"OW!"

Manami had left herself wide open. Olivier slashed her across the torso and knocked her down with a loud THUD.

"Ngh…" Manami groaned.

"Get up." Olivier demanded, pointing her sword at Manami once more. "At this rate, you're far too inexperienced to be sent out on this mission. You'll only be dead weight to your comrades, endangering them as well!"

That was the second time… another reminder that she was still so weak, and probably more of a liability than an asset…

The thought of her being the reason that Ed or Al got hurt— maybe killed— because she was too weak to hold her own… it made her grit her teeth, and push herself to stand up once more.

She charged again, and Olivier merely dodged each and every attack she threw at her. Manami only got more and more frustrated, and Olivier used that to her advantage…

In one fell swoop, Olivier lunged and knocked the Keyblade out of Manami's hand, sending it flying behind her.

"?!" Manami turned away from Olivier as she watched the Keyblade fall to the ground, and Olivier SLAMMED the hilt of her sword into Manami's side.

"GUH!" Manami's eyes bulged and she fell to her knees, holding her side as she rode out the immense pain.

"I don't consider myself merciful, but if I wanted... you would have been skewered by my blade already." Olivier hissed. "No one else you fight is going to hesitate to deal the killing blow!"

Manami felt tears come to her eyes, gritting her teeth as she was immobilized from the pain.

"NOW GET UP!" Olivier yelled. "I know you can take a lot more than that, and if you can't, then you're wasting mine and EVERYONE else's time!"

Manami found that she had no will to get up...

Al couldn't bear to watch anymore. He stepped forward to pick up her Keyblade, but...

"You will _not_ interfere, Alphonse Elric." Olivier snarled.

"B-But Master Olivier... she's unarmed!" Al pleaded. "She can't defend herself like this!"

Master? So… she had trained Ed and Al, too. Izumi was also probably a teacher of theirs.

Manami now understood... why they were afraid.

"She should have the ability to call the Keyblade back to her." Olivier said. "She needs to learn to do so! DO NOT INTERFERE, OR ELSE!"

"..." Al lowered his head, stepping away from the Keyblade. "Y-Yes, Master…"

Manami, still panting heavily, looked up to see the Keyblade. Olivier walked around and stood in front of her, in the way of the Keyblade.

"..." Manami lifted a shaky hand to reach out for it… but nothing happened.

"Concentrate. Call to it!" Olivier demanded.

"I'm _trying!_" Manami yelled back, frustrated.

"Not hard _enough!" _Olivier struck Manami with her sword once more, sending her flying back.

As Manami landed on her back, her necklace had flown off from around her neck and landed a few feet away.

"..." Olivier eyed the star-shaped necklace for a moment, before walking up to it and crouching down to pick it up.

"..!" Manami looked up to see her necklace in Olivier's hand, reaching to her chest to feel for it and confirm that it was no longer there.

"H-Hey!" She got up to her knees. "Give that back!"

"You mean this?" Olivier held up the necklace on display. "If you didn't want it to be destroyed, you shouldn't be wearing such a useless trinket to battle in the first place."

Manami pushed herself to stand up, frantically looking back and forth between the Keyblade and the necklace in Olivier's hand.

"If you want this thing so much, come get it. Otherwise, I'll dispose of it myself."

"Master, wait!" Al cried.

"This is going too far!" Ed protested.

Olivier didn't acknowledge either of their cries, throwing the necklace up in the air, and readying her sword to slash at it as it came back down.

"!" Manami reached for the Keyblade once more, wishing with _all_ her might… and it suddenly appeared back in her hand!

But, unexpectedly, Manami _threw_ they Keyblade at Olivier… and missed.

"Pathetic." Olivier pulled back her sword to strike the necklace, but suddenly… the Keyblade came back around, like a boomerang.

Ed and Al's eyes went wide, watching as the Keyblade hit Olivier in the ankles, and knocking her down.

Manami ran forward and dove for the necklace, managing to catch it in her hands as she landed on her stomach.

She lay face-first in the dirt for a long moment, panting heavily as she closed her fingers tightly around her necklace. She slowly got up to sit on her knees and clutched the necklace closely to her chest.

"..." Her back was facing everyone, but they could see that her shoulders were trembling.

"You may… be my teacher…"

Manami looked over her shoulder to glare at Olivier, tears stinging the corner of her eyes.

"But... I will _not_ allow you to destroy... what's most important to me!"

"..." Olivier said nothing, pushing herself off the ground to stand up.

"..." Manami turned away once again, putting the necklace back around her neck, before pushing herself to stand up on wobbly legs.

"... I'm done…"

And with that, she turned to walk out of the courtyard.

"Your lesson isn't finished." Olivier hissed, watching Manami walk to the door that led inside the building.

"Yes, it is." Manami didn't look back as she threw the door open and stepped inside, then throwing the door shut behind her with a loud SLAM!

"..." Ed and Al stood there, staring at the door Manami just walked through, frozen in shock.

No one had EVER defied Olivier like that before... and lived to tell the tale.

"Well? What are you two doing?" Olivier spoke, snapping them both back to reality.

"It's your job to watch her, isn't it? SO GET GOING! Or do you need refreshment courses?"

"NO THANK YOU!" Ed and Al bolted across the courtyard and through the same door Manami went through, quickly catching up with her.

The Elric brothers exchanged glances, neither of them really sure of what to say… if they should say anything at all.

Manami didn't even notice them following her as she stormed out the front doors to Central HQ. The further down the street they went, in the opposite direction of the Hughes estate, the more Ed and Al caught on to the fact that she was just walking in a blind rage.

"Um…" Al started.

"Do you know where you're going?" Ed asked.

"..." Manami slowly came to a stop, sighing heavily. "No… I don't."

She didn't turn to face them, but she clenched her fists tightly.

"Well... we can help you…" Al offered. "Where do you want to go—"

"_HOME!" _Manami whipped around to face them. "Where I _want_ is to go _home!_ But that's not possible, is it?!"

Ed and Al flinched at the sudden outburst, and Manami immediately felt guilty. She sighed once more, turning away from them.

"I'm sorry… that was uncalled for…"

"It's okay…" Al assured her. "You're going through a lot…"

"... what's the _point?_" Manami asked, still not looking at them. "Why did this stupid thing choose the most useless person to wield it, if it's so _damn_ important?"

She thought she would be better at this. She would always defend Kai and herself from bullies, growing up. She did fine, then… but now, all she was was some novice.

"You're not useless, Manami…" Al said, his voice soft. "There's something about you that the Keyblade saw in you. Maybe it's the strength and resolve of your heart, or maybe it's something that you don't even know yet."

"You're being too hard on yourself." Ed added. "While I'm not one of the people who believes in destiny or anything like that, I do believe that things have a logical reason for happening. So there's a logical reason why that Keyblade chose you."

"That's right!" Al agreed. "You _definitely_ have hidden talent; it's not just the power imbued into you by the Keyblade! Trust us... we saw it today."

Manami slowly turned to look back at the Elric brothers. "... really?"

"Yeah!" Al nodded. "All this training is hard, but it'll be worth it! You'll see!"

"And when in doubt, remember that _we_ survived their training— and we don't even have Keyblades." Ed crossed his arms.

"Heck, Al and I had to survive on an island for a whole month by ourselves! And that was back when we were kids."

"..." Manami couldn't help but chuckle. "This world is absolutely insane with its training regimens…"

Ed smiled sheepishly back at her, while Al hummed happily.

"Well…" Manami sighed. "I have to try to take your word for it."

She paused, thinking for a moment.

"... be honest, how dead I am I for storming out like that?" She asked.

"Oh, you're toast." Ed said, matter-of-factly.

"BROTHER!"

"What?! She said to be honest!"

Al was about to scold his brother, but was stopped at the abrupt sound of Manami beginning to… laugh?

The Elric brothers looked back at Manami, seeing her holding her sides and laughing…

Once her laughter died down, she smiled at them.

"Thanks, guys..."

Ed and Al didn't really get it, but… hey, she laughed.

That had to account for something.


	8. Chapter 8

Manami trained for the following week with Izumi and Olivier. It was tough, but she was able to adapt and keep getting up. While she was still nowhere near the level of magic as Edward, nor the level of combat prowess as Alphonse… she was, at the very least, beginning to earn her right to be called a Keyblade wielder.

In this one week, Manami learned the Fire, Thunder, and Blizzard spells. She had perfected the art of summoning and de-summoning her Keyblade, as well as calling it back to her if she was ever disarmed. She also excelled at fighting in close range, and even found herself to be able to parry and defend better against Olivier's attacks.

Of course, while it was imperative that she trained and learned as much as she could, Manami needed her rest as well.

Manami woke up on a sunny day. She was greeted by Maes, and he informed her that she had the day off today.

"You know Manami, me and my family were thinking of catching a film today." He mentioned. "You and the boys are more than welcome to join us. It could help you take your mind off of all this."

Manami blinked in surprise. Amestris had movies?

"Oh, I'm sorry," Maes apologized. "Are you familiar with films?"

"Y-Yeah!" Manami nodded. "I was just surprised to hear that you have them here, too."

"A film, huh?" Ed thought for a moment. "I don't think we ever even stepped into a movie theater before, have we Al?"

"Nope." Al shook his head. "We've always had our noses buried in books…"

Manami thought for a moment. If it was 1920 here in Amestris, that meant that their "films" were probably black and white. It was even possible that they were silent films.

Still, it sounded like fun.

"Are you sure?" She asked. "We don't wanna impose…"

"Nonsense!" Maes laughed, smiling as Gracia and Elicia appeared behind him. "We love having you around! Plus, it would mean a lot to Elicia. Isn't that right, honey?"

"Come on, big sis!" Elicia pulled on Manami's pant leg. "Please come!"

"You wouldn't say no to that face, would you Manami?" Maes winked.

"..." Manami let out a soft chuckle, patting Elicia on the head. "Nope, I sure wouldn't."

* * *

And so, the Hughes family took Manami and the Elric brothers to the movie theater. As they stood in line to get tickets, Manami looked up to Maes and Gracia.

"Thank you again for bringing us." She thanked them.

"Of course!" Maes beamed at her. "You'll be off on other worlds soon enough, and who knows how often we'll be able to see each other again. Wouldn't feel right for you to leave so soon without showing you a little of what our world has to offer!"

"We know how difficult all of this has been for you." Gracia smiled softly. "We know we can't take the place of your real family, and I'm sure this whole world in itself is different from yours… but, hopefully we can help you feel a little less lost."

"..." Manami was honestly touched to hear that, and it made her smile from ear to ear.

"Thank you…"

Little did they know, they were being watched.

Two people stood atop a building nearby, watching Manami smile and laugh with the Elric brothers and the Hughes family.

"See? It's just as I told you…" Lust crossed her arms under her large chest. "Look at how happy she is. She seems more content to just leisurely spend time with those boys, opposed to searching for you."

"..." Kai's eyes narrowed at the sight of it. "I-It doesn't mean she's already forgotten about me, right?"

Manami... seeing her smiling and laughing now… Did she really forget about him, after all..?

"Forgotten about you may not be the right term, boy…" Lust shook her head. "Perhaps it's more like she's... replaced you."

Kai flinched.

"Those boys she's with… they're both much stronger than you ever were, so she never has to worry about them holding her back." She continued. "She's really enjoying their company... don't you agree? So much so that she's not even mourning her so-called best friend. She simply believed that you have passed away, and she's already moved on."

"..." Kai felt anger rush through him, causing him to clench his fists… but, then the feeling of hopelessness washed over him and he loosened up.

"... well, that's good, right? I mean... it just means she's not hurting anymore…" He tried to reason, doing his best to maintain a smile… but that didn't stop the tears from falling out of his eyes.

"I... wouldn't want her to be crying over me. I-It would be selfish enough to wish her to suffer... wouldn't it?"

Kai didn't see, but Lust smirked from behind him.

"And that's exactly why she's already moved on." She told him. "You have no value in yourself, so what value could she possibly see in you? At this point, it's clear the only reason she even tolerated you was just pity."

"NO!" Kai whipped around to face her, gritting his teeth. "That's not why we were friends!"

He paused, suddenly doubting himself..

"... was it?" He whispered. "... I... I wasn't holding her back, was I..?"

"Or maybe... she was holding _you _back." Lust replied. "She never let you fight your own battles, and instead just hogged up the glory; keeping you from discovering your true potential. You've seen what you're capable of first hand…"

Kai looked down, saying nothing. He was still just as confused as ever. He looked back one last time to see Manami walking into the theater with her new friends.

"..." He sighed sadly, turning back to Lust. "Let's just go…"

And with that, they both disappeared inside the dark portal. Just as they did, Manami had stopped at the entrance to the theater, and looked behind her.

"..?" She got a strange feeling, all of a sudden… but why?

"Manami!" Al called from inside, snapping her out of it.

She looked back to see the suit of armor holding the door open. "You coming?"

"Yeah..!" Manami nodded, dismissing the strange feeling she had as she went to follow everyone inside.

* * *

The second week of training came and went, and Manami was only improving.

Izumi had taught her how to use the Keyblade to lock, as well as unlock, any kind of door or lock that she faced. Meanwhile, Olivier taught her more advanced combat techniques for countering, as well as refining her newfound "boomerang" skill. She could even hold her own against Ed and Al now, often fighting them both in sparring matches to help her better fight more than one opponent at once.

A few times, Ed had woken up to find Manami in the backyard of the Hughes estate, already working out or sparring with Al as the sun was rising.

At the end of the second week, Manami had decided to stay after training to get some extra practice in on the training dummies. She had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, and her earbuds in her ears. She found that blasting music while training not only upped her morale and adrenaline, but also made it easy for her to get into her own world. She would line the wires of her earbuds under her shirt so that they didn't get in the way while she hacked, slashed, and spellcasted.

She wasn't perfect, but she was still far from the clumsy and awkward Keyblade wielder that walked in two weeks ago.

Around her, training dummies were on the ground, slashed open with the fluff spilling out. Others were singed from fire and thunder spells. Manami took out the last training dummy with a fireball, then yanked on the wire to her earbuds to pull them out of her ears. As they dangled over the neckline of her shirt, she put her hands on her hips and panted as she leaned her head back to stare up at the lights shining down on her.

Right now… she looked like a real Keyblade wielder.

"Not bad, Manami!" Ed complimented her, as he and Al brought her a towel and a bottle of water.

"You're improving so much that at this rate—"

Al stopped mid sentence when he noticed Izumi and Olivier walking in the room. He and Ed immediately stood at attention.

Manami, who was drinking out of her water bottle, turned to see her two teachers approaching her.

She pulled the bottle from her lips and swallowed the water before greeting them.

"Hey!"

"Well... it's been two weeks and honestly you've improved at a rate that we didn't respect." Izumi said, gesturing to all the training dummies on the floor around them.

"Oh…" Manami blinked in surprise at the compliment. "Thank you—"

"But don't get too cocky!" Olivier cut her off. "You've still yet to actually fight for your like in a real battle. To me, you're still a novice who still has a LOT left to learn."

"... okay…" Manami frowned a little, unsure of what to think of this conversation, now.

"That said, at this point the best possible way you can continue to unlock the power of the Keyblade is through battle." Izumi explained. "A Keyblade's true power surfaces as the strength of one's heart grows stronger, which is something you can only get from traveling to other worlds."

Manami raised a brow. "... meaning..?"

"Meaning…" Izumi paused. "You're ready."

Manami's eyes went wide with surprise. "... r-really?"

Izumi and Olivier nodded simultaneously.

"You mean it?" Manami asked. "Like... you're not pulling my chain, here?"

"We're serious." Olivier responded, annoyance in her tone.

"..." Manami stared at them, still in disbelief.

After a moment, she finally smiled from ear to ear, and threw her arms up in the air.

"I DID IT!"

"Alright!" Ed cheered.

"You did it, Manami!" Al cheered, as well.

The Elric brothers pulled in Manami in one big hug as they continued to cheer and celebrate. Izumi crosses her arms, a small smile forming on her lips, while Olivier rolled her eyes and looked away.

Though, deep down, she was impressed at how far the Keyblade Wielder had progressed in such a short amount of time.

After a few more moments of celebrating, Manami pulled away from her group hug with Ed and Al to bow politely to her teachers.

"Thank you... for all that you taught me." She lifted her head to smile sheepishly. "And uh... thank you for putting up with me, too."

"Hmph." Olivier nodded firmly. "Like I said, you still have a lot to learn. But from here on out, what you learn will be beyond our world."

"And you won't be alone." Izumi said, smiling to Ed and Al. "Perhaps these two will learn a thing or two themselves, while journeying with you."

Ed and Al could see, in Izumi's expression… she was saying, _"I__ truly hope you find a way to restore your bodies out there."_

* * *

A few days later, a special ceremony was held at Central Headquarters, where Manami would be officially declared the Keyblade Wielder of the Amestrian Military.

Manami was sporting a brand new outfit that she was to wear on her journey. It wasn't a traditional military uniform (much to Manami's relief), but it definitely was an outfit that would protect her more than normal civilian clothes would.

At this ceremony, Manami would be knighted by Furher King Bradley himself, and she was to give a speech afterward.

Tons of soldiers and civilians alike were crowded in front of the building to witness this historical ceremony. Furher King Bradley stood at a podium beside Manami, while Ed, Al, Izumi, Olivier, Roy, and other soldiers were lined up behind them.

"Today is a historical event for our world... the day we welcome a Keyblade Wielder into our military, to aid us in our fight against the Heartless." Bradley announced. "This will not only mean that our world will be safe from being consumed by their darkness, but that we can fight to ensure that other worlds will be spared."

Bradley turned to Manami, who knelt down on one knee.

"May you guide us, and other worlds, to the light in our time of need... and bring all of our hearts together." He drew his sword from his sheath, and tapped Manami on both shoulders with the blade.

"Now rise, Keyblade Wielder... and prove your power!"

As Manami rose to stand up, she looked up and saw something appear in the sky…

A Keyhole... it was massive, taking up most of the sky. It appeared to be wrapped in chains, some of which were broken and dangling. Behind the chains, she could see darkness swirling inside the Keyhole, the chains barely containing it, as well as the dark monsters that were surely inside.

Manami remembered Ed and Al telling her about the Keyhole of their world… they had been using magic and alchemy to keep it sealed, but it was always a temporary fix, and Heartless were sometimes able to still slip through…

It looked like it could burst at any moment.

"It's time, Keyblade Wielder…" Bradley said. "Show everyone in Amestris that they have nothing to fear!"

"Relax, Manami... You got this." Al whispered from behind her.

"After training with our teachers, this should be a breeze." Ed also whispered.

"..." Manami gave a small nod. She held out her hand, and the Keyblade appeared instantly.

She was told that, to lock a Keyhole, she had to point the Keyblade at it and summon the will in her heart to lock it…

Manami took a deep breath, taking the Keyblade in both her hands and pointing it up to the sky, aiming at the Keyhole. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate…

_"Just like the locks we worked with before... this is just a bigger one. We can lock this one." _She thought.

But, for a moment, nothing happened. For Manami, this moment felt like _forever._

Still, she didn't give up. She focused harder... until the Keyblade started to glow, and sparkles began to float around her.

"..?" Manami opened her eyes, seeing the sparkles around her. She looked back up to the Keyhole in the sky, wishing with all her might to lock it…

PING! A beam of light shot out of the end of the Keyblade, directly into the Keyhole. It immediately destroyed the chains but filled the Keyhole with light, eradicating the darkness within immediately.

Still, the light was so bright that everyone had to shut their eyes.

**THUNK!**

A loud click boomed through the sky, and everyone looked up to see the Keyhole now shining a bright, warm light… completely free of darkness.

The crowd exploded in a roaring applause, making Manami smile sheepishly and wave nervously.

"Let the sealing of our Keyhole not only show that we're in great hands, but that our military will support the Keyblade Wielder through her journey to other worlds to rid of the Heartless threat, so we may usher in a new era of peace for not just our world, but all others!" Bradley announced, then stepped off the podium.

It was now time for Manami's speech… which, frankly, she was more nervous about than sealing the Keyhole...

She wasn't a stranger to the feeling of stage fright.

Manami stepped up to the podium, looking down at the crowd of soldiers and civilians, spotting some people she recognized...

None of which were Kai.

"..." Manami frowned a little, not saying anything for a moment, even as the crowd quieted down.

Ed and Al exchanged glances… she wasn't choking on her big speech, was she?

Finally, Manami took a deep breath, then began to speak.

"If any of you told me a month ago that I would be here, doing this… I would have laughed." She began. "I had no idea about the threat of darkness… but, I then experienced firsthand the terror of losing my home to it. My biggest regret is that I couldn't save my best friend, whose whereabouts are currently unknown."

Manami paused to take a shaky breath. "A-And… it was because of that fear and hopelessness… that the Keyblade chose me to wield it. It gave me hope, along with the opportunity to fight back— I may be from another world, but that won't stop me from defending yours, mine, and all others!"

"Today marks the beginning of no longer giving in to the fear of darkness…" Manami pointed her Keyblade up to the sky. "And instead looking towards a future... as bright as that Keyhole! I swear, as long as my heart still beats, I will use this Keyblade to pave the way towards that future!"

Manami was welcomed with another round of thunderous applause, which Manami patiently waited to die down before continuing to speak, her smile fading..

"And… Kai... if you're somewhere out there, listening to this... I promise... I'll find you. I'll get our home back... and we'll go home together!"

Manami then proceeded to step down from the podium, and the crowd cheered for her once more as everyone left the stage.

From here, Manami would embark on her journey.

As Manami walked down the corridor to the Gummi garage with Ed and Al by her side, soldiers lined both sides of the long hall, saluting them as they passed.

Manami noticed Alex Louis Armstrong among the soldiers, saluting with one hand while wiping away tears with a pink little handkerchief with the other.

At the end of the corridor, in front of the doors leading to the garage, stood Winry, Pinako, and the Hughes family.

"You did great, Manami... and you're going to continue to do great things, I know it!" Gracia hugged Manami. "You boys...be sure to look after her, alright?"

"Don't worry; Al and I will keep her safe." Ed assured her, Al nodding in agreement.

"I know you've taken a lot of big steps already Manami, but this is going to be one of the biggest yet." Maes stepped up to Manami. "Either way, I know we're in good hands with you. Also, if you guys ever need something to brighten your day…"

Maes pulled out a photo and held it up to her. "Here's a picture of Elicia!~ You'll have her little smile wherever you go, right sweetie?"

Manami looked down to see the real Elicia, not smiling like she was in the picture, but looking down to her feet sadly.

She probably didn't understand...

"..." Manami knelt down in front of the girl, who slowly looked up at her with teary eyes.

"Mommy and Daddy said you gotta go... will you come back and visit us?"

Manami smiled sadly, Elicia's sad face tugging at her heart strings.

"Of course." Manami nodded. "We'll be back and playing again before you know it."

"..." Elicia didn't say anything, but jumped forward to hug Manami as tight as her little arms could.

Manami felt tears come to her eyes, but she managed to hold them bad as she hugged Elicia back. After a moment, she pulled away, and Gracia went to pick up and hold Elicia.

"You're welcome back anytime." Gracia smiled softly.

"Thank you…" Manami nodded. She looked to Maes and opened her mouth to say something, but…

"One minute!" Winry interjected. "Edward, you remember that you have to teach Manami how to operate the ship, right? In case of emergencies, when you and Al are incapacitated, or she's alone for what ever reason— she needs to know how to _fly_ the thing!"

Manami couldn't help but feel a little nervous at the possible scenarios Winry had just listed...

"Well yeah, of course I was gonna teach her." Ed rolled his eyes. "I'd be dumb not to!"

"I also did an inspection of the Gummi ship and I noticed that you forgot _this!_" Winry slapped a small book in Ed's hands.

Manami briefly saw the word "Manual" on the book, so she assumed it was for the Gummi Ship…

"How do you expect to teach her without the manual, huh?" Winry asked.

"Winry, I read this manual tons of times already." Ed groaned. "I don't need it."

"That doesn't mean that _Manami_ doesn't!" Winry sighed heavily. "Just keep the book on the ship, for crying out loud…"

Manami smiled a little to Winry. It was obvious that she was already worried about Ed and Al, and they hadn't even left yet...

"Don't mind my granddaughter, Manami…" Pinako chuckled. "She just wants you and the boys to be as safe and prepared as possible. She does tend to worry when Ed and Al travel off world. But do give that book a look-see when you get a chance."

"Right." Manami nodded to her. "I will."

"By the way. Manami…" Winry leaned in to whisper to her. "I know that Ed and Al are coming along to look after you, but... can you please look after them, too?"

"Huh?" Manami blinked.

"Edward can be a hot head, and Al can sometimes be too nice for his own good. I'm not gonna be there to slap some sense into them, but I'm sure you'll be able to take charge and keep them in line if you have to."

"..." Manami couldn't help but grin. "Yeah, I will. I promise."

She was the first to open her arms and hug Winry. The blonde mechanic returned the hug.

Manami pulled away from Winry and once again looked to Maes. He smiled back at her, ready to listen to what she had to say first.

"..." She opened her mouth to speak, but… for whatever reason, she only found herself getting emotional. The tears finally spilled out of her eyes, and she quickly went to wipe them away.

"S-Sorry…" She sniffled. "This is weird…"

"Heh, no reason to apologize, Manami! I understand." Maes assured her. "This is all still all new, and things just keep changing for you one way or another. Whether it's learning something new about yourself, or learning about things beyond yourself... it's happening fast, and it's overwhelming. Look at it this way, everything new that comes your way means you'll grow more… and every new thing is just the next step to getting your friend and your world back."

"... yeah…" Manami nodded, still wiping away her tears that wouldn't stop falling.

"Just remember no matter what happens, our hearts will be with you, and vice versa... You'll always have a home here, no matter what." Maes opened his arms, and Manami reached to hug him, just as tightly as Elicia had hugged her earlier.

After hugging her back for a moment, he slowly pulled away and put his hands on her shoulders. "You be safe out there."

"I will…" Manami nodded.

Maes stepped back as Manami finished wiping her tears, and she turned to look to the door to the garage.

"... wait..." She reached into her pocket. "One more thing…"

Manami pulled out her cell phone before looking at everyone. "I was… wondering if we could get together for a group photo?"

Everyone other than the Elric brothers and Winry all exchanged confused looks.

"Oh, right…" Manami chuckled nervously. "This device has a camera… so I was hoping we could all take a photo together?"

She turned on the front facing camera, holding her phone as high as she could, and everyone saw their reflection in the screen.

"Ooooh…" Winry was super interested.

"That's it," Manami directed everyone. "Everyone squeeze in close— we're all friends here!"

When everyone leaned in to fit in the frame, Manami looked back to the camera, smiling as brightly as she could.

"Alright... say, 'Keyblade!'"

"Keyblade!"

Manami snapped the picture, then lowered her phone to look at the picture. Satisfied, she held up her phone to show everyone.

It was a perfect photo… Manami was at the front and center, surrounded by everyone who helped her get this far, with big smiles on their faces.

"Came out perfect!" She beamed. "Thank you!"

And with that, Manami boarded the Gummi Ship with Ed an Al. They strapped into their seats, Ed taking the pilot's seat. Manami looked out the window to see everyone standing a safe distance away, watching as the ship started it's engine.

Roy Mustang, Riza Hawkeye, and the other soldiers of the Amestrian military gave one final salute as the Gummi Ship began to rise. Soon enough, the ship was hovering over Central Headquarters.

"Alright… prepare for blastoff!" Ed announced, taking the controls.

**BOOM!**

The Gummi Ship launched into space, leaving behind Amestris... and everyone in it.

As the Gummi Ship flies into space, we are finally welcomed with the title screen: **Kingdom Hearts**


	9. Chapter 9

"_That's two times I read through the manual…"_

Manami set the Gummi Ship manual down on the floor next to her seat, then looked out the window with a bored expression.

Blasting off was exciting, but once they got to the empty space… there wasn't much to do. And they traveled through the view-less area for three hours, now.

The control panel beeped, and Ed looked down to the radar.

"Looks like we've found a world." He announced.

"Really?" Manami got up from her seat and went to look over his shoulder.

Just as she looked, a small flat screen beside the radar flashed on, revealing Roy Mustang.

"Right on cue…" Ed muttered under his breath, ignoring the screen and looking ahead where he was driving.

"Greetings, Manami, Alphonse, and Fullmetal; this is Colonel Roy Mustang from Central Command. I trust so far your travels are going smoothly? I've received the alert that you are approaching your first destination."

Manami looked up to see out ahead. Indeed, there was a planet up. It was far away, but they were fast approaching it.

"Yup," Ed pushed some buttons and flipped a few switches on the control panel. "We're locked in to begin landing shortly."

"Got any intel, Colonel?" Al asked.

Manami looked up to Al, raising an eyebrow. "Intel? Would you know anything about a word we just got to?"

"Actually, the worlds you're visiting are already charted and documented." Roy explained. "In the past, we've sent small squads of soldiers to set up some 'Gummi Satellites' to do some reconnaissance."

"Oh, I see." Manami nodded in understanding. "I guess that makes sense."

"Surely you didn't think we'd just shove you off to these worlds without making sure what you were in for, did you?" Roy chuckled.

"I wouldn't put it past you." Ed muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Brother, are you still mad about the train thing?"

"Among other things…"

Manami was going to question what the Elric brothers were talking about, when suddenly Maes Hughes appeared beside Roy in the frame.

"Maes!" Manami smiled brightly at the sight of him.

"Manami! Ed! Al!" Maes beamed back at her. "How are the three of you getting along so far? Hope you're having a good trip—"

"Excuse me Hughes," Roy shot him a look, annoyance in his tone. "But I was in the middle of providing the intel of the world they're about to disembark on... you can show them pictures of your daughter _later._"

"Sheesh Roy, who do you think I am? Some doting dad who never shuts up about his kid?" Maes laughed.

"That's _exactly_ who you are…" Roy grumbled, but Maes seemed to ignore him.

"By the way Manami, Elicia says she misses you a lot! She couldn't stop crying when you left! I couldn't help but break out into tears myself, because even her little sad tears are just_ so_ precious!"

Roy cleared his throat LOUDLY, to shut Maes up.

"Fine, fine…" Maes held his hands up in defeat. "Seriously Roy, you gotta give me more credit than that. Who do you think helped get you that intel to begin with? I think I have just as much as a right to be here, y'know!"

"We ask that you stay focused, Lieutenant Colonel Hughes." Manami heard Riza say, despite being out of frame. "We can't delay Manami any further."

"You got me there." Maes smiled sheepishly.

Still, Manami was smiling at the sight of all of them. For whatever reason, she was reminiscing about how she would talk with Kai on FaceTime, especially on nights before tests they had to take... Kai would try to tutor and quiz her, but she would always get distracted and end up playing video games and goofing off...

"Ahem, Manami? You listening?"

"Huh?" Manami snapped out of it. "Oh, yeah..! Sorry... heh, you could say I... _spaced out._"

Everyone stared at Manami.

"... you know, because we're in space..?" Manami smiled nervously.

"..." Maes burst out in laughter, breaking the awkward silence.

"I get it! Hahahaha!"

"Tomfoolery aside…" Roy felt his eyebrow twitch. "The world you're going to seems to be more primitive, compared to ours. They appear to have creatures called 'yokai' running around, or 'demons' as others might call them."

As Roy explained, the image on the screen changed to show photos of the inhabitants of the planet they were approaching. Manami recognized some of them, as if they were references to some demons and creatures from old folklore tales.

"Demons, huh?" Ed asked. "We only blast off a few hours ago and we're already going to hell."

"I'm sure they're... nice demons?" Al chuckled nervously.

"Actually, it varies," Maes said. "Some live peacefully with humans, others are hostile. Speaking of humans, normally we would recommend that you try to dress appropriately, to blend in with the locals... but there's something kind of odd about this world."

Manami blinked as the image on the screen changed to a girl. Despite everyone around her wearing kimonos, robes, and yukatas... she was wearing… a school uniform?

But nobody seemed to mind?

"This girl doesn't look like she even belongs in this world... either she's from another world herself, or there's something else going on." Maes explained.

The screen changed back to the camera looking at Roy and Maes. "With this in mind, you three should be able to go in as you are... but just keep in mind; you might find yourselves attacked by both heartless and Yokai, so be on your guard."

"Right." Manami nodded.

"That will be all." Roy finished, giving a salute.

"Good luck!" Maes saluted as well. "I know you can do it, you three! Oh, and maybe you can bring my daughter a little souvenir—"

A hand reached in the frame to grab Maes by the ear, the transmission cutting out right as he let out a yelp.

"Well, that's that." Ed looked up to Manami. "Ready, Manami?"

"I think so." Manami nodded, trying her best to not outwardly seem nervous.

"Not much to really prepare... other than my nerves."

* * *

And so, Ed, Manami, and Alphonse landed the Gummi Ship… they found themselves in a rather lush forest. Here, the only sounds were of birds chirping.

Manami stepped off the ship to see a village in the distance, as well as some shrines. People were walking along the dirt roads, some carrying baskets of fruit.

"So Manami, how's it feel stepping onto another world?" Ed asked, as he and Al stepped beside her.

"Weird…" Manami admitted with a weak chuckle.

"It was weird for us, too." Al said. "Hey brother, remember the time we fought that black haired boy and his dad?"

"Yeah, but it turned out that that boy could transform into a red haired girl with just a splash of water... something about a curse." Ed shrugged.

"And his dad could turn into a panda." Al added with a chuckle.

Manami blinked. "How many worlds have you been to, anyway?"

Ed looked up in thought, as if he were counting in his head.

"A handful." Al answered. "About a dozen... though some of them were either completely abandoned, while others have been consumed by darkness since. Hopefully by the end of this... we'll be able to restore those lost worlds."

"..." Manami looked down to her feet, feeling nervousness rise within her. "Y-Yeah…"

"... come on, we need to get moving." Ed didn't want to let Manami start doubting herself before they even did anything. "We should start by heading over to that village and asking around. Maybe we can learn something there."

The trio turned to walk through the trees toward the village, but they stopped dead in their tracks when they all heard a strange sound. Something like a combination of a grunt and a hiss.

Something that sounded like neither man nor beast.

"..." Manami felt a shiver run up her spine, and she swallowed thickly. "Tell me that was somebody's stomach…"

"I don't have a stomach..." Al whined.

"Well, there's only one way to find out!" Ed whipped around and rushed to hide in the trees

"Ed..!" Manami and Al both whisper-yelled, scrambling to follow him and duck in the brush.

They followed the sound of the noise, and Ed pulled back some branches to reveal a bunch of heartless, circling around a small, defenseless creature.

The heartless seemed to be a little different... while five of them were the same shadow heartless that Manami saw last time, there were other types… three of them looked like Kappas, while the last two were basically enlarged centipedes.

Manami couldn't see past the heartless to make out what the creature they were attacking was, but it was backed up against a wooden wagon, trying to defend itself with a giant paint brush.

"!" Manami stood up and summoned the Keyblade. "We gotta help!"

Right after, Ed clapped his hands and transmuted his automail arm into a blade, while Al transmuted a lance that stood as tall as he did.

The centipedes noticed them first, and slithered over to attack their ankles with their pincers.

"Ew, ew, ew, ew!" Manami jumped back, casting fire at the one that came closest to her, setting it on fire.

Manami was about to strike it down as it writhed and twitched on the ground, but the other centipede reached to bite its tail, becoming a wheel that rolled over to ram into Manami.

"Gah!"

While Manami was distracted, the first centipede rolled away the flames on its body and got back up.

"Oh, man…" Manami groaned to herself and got in a battle-ready stance in front of the centipedes.

_"Come on, you got this!"_

Meanwhile, one of the Kappa heartless started to fling discs of water at the Elric brothers. Ed quickly conjured fireballs to deflect them, but the Kappa was throwing more water discs than he was transmuting fireballs.

It was quick for Ed to lose the match of speed and got hit by three water discs. They splashed on impact, but they felt more like getting hit by rocks.

"Grr… THUNDER!" Ed clapped his hands, then raised his automail blade and summoned a lightning bolt down on the Kappa, taking it out immediately.

Meanwhile, Al used his lance like a club to smash down on the shadow heartless, launching them up above him. He then spun his lance to juggle them into the air, dealing numerous blows. However, one of the shadows fell out of the juggle pile and managed to head butt him from behind.

While Manami fought off the centipedes, she caught a glimpse of the creature that they were saving. It looked like a mini cow, wearing glasses, still waving it's paintbrush frantically to keep any threatening heartless at bay from it and it's wagon.

Manami looked back to the centipedes, aiming her Keyblade and casting a fireball. The one she had set aflame earlier was destroyed, but the other centipede was knocked back… towards the cow she was protecting!

"!" The cow frantically bopped the centipede on it's head with its paint brush, before Manami ran over to smack it away with her Keyblade.

"Oof!" Al was dog-piled by the shadow heartless, but he was strong enough to stand once more and throw them off. He drew back his lance and stabbed through two of them together, destroying them both.

Ed ran circles around the Kappa heartless as they threw their water discs, before transmuting a giant stone fist out of the ground to punch one of them, smashing into it and crushing it against the other.

The remaining centipede that Manami was fighting went to bite its tail, once again rolling into a wheel. As it rolled towards her to ram into her, Manami stood her ground and held the Keyblade in front of her...

**[Learned Guard!]**

Manami deflected the centipede, and it fell flat on the ground, stunned. She took this opportunity to lunge forward and stab her Keyblade into it, destroying it.

She had no time to celebrate— there were still the two Kappa Heartless who threw water discs, this time hitting Manami and Al and dealing some damage.

Ed jumped up on the stone fist he transmuted earlier and jumped down on one of the Kappa heartless, plunging his automail blade through its head and taking it out.

"Brother! Think fast!" Al swung his lance like a baseball bat and hit one of the shadow heartless so hard, it flew across the battlefield and SLAMMED into the remaining Kappa heartless.

"BLIZZARD!"Ed summoned ice spikes that skewered the two heartless, destroying them both.

"Manami! You're up!" Al swung his lance to smack the last shadow heartless at Manami, and she gracefully slashed it in half and destroyed it.

Once she confirmed that they had defeated the last of the heartless, Manami smiled brightly as she swung the Keyblade over her shoulder.

"We did it!"

"Is that cow thing alright?" Ed asked, and everyone turned to look back.

The cow appeared to be unharmed, and she took a deep sigh of relief, then adjusted her glasses before approaching the three of them. She bowed respectfully, then handed a card to Manami with both hands.

"A gift card?" Manami asked aloud, inspecting the back and finding a name.

"Ara...kawa?" Manami looked up from the card. "Is that your name?"

The cow nodded quickly, making her glasses fall askew again... but she quickly adjusted her glasses.

"_I guess she doesn't talk…"_ Manami thought, but then offered a smile.

"Well, glad we could help!"

The cow bowed once more before going to walk away with her wagon… but suddenly, one of the wheels fell off, causing her to panic.

"..." Manami and Al looked to Ed expectantly.

"Yeah, yeah…" Ed rolled his eyes, already knowing what they were thinking. "I got it."

He bent down to the broken wheel and clapped his hands, transmuting the wheel against the side of the wagon… and, in a flash, it was as good as new.

The small cow breathed another sigh of relief, then bowed to Ed. To his surprise, she offered him a gift as well…

Until he realized that it was a bottle of milk.

"... is this some kind of sick joke?"

"Brother!" Al scolded him.

"I mean, _for me?_" Ed forced a smile. "You shouldn't have! You... reeeaaaaaalllllllyyyy... shouldn't have…"

He was tempted to toss the bottle, but instead put it away with the rest of the group's inventory.

"_I guess we can use it to make stew or something…" _He figured.

Arakawa waved goodbye one last time before making her way to the village that Manami and the Elric brothers were originally heading.

"Bad rewards aside…" Ed looked to Manami. "How's it feel winning your first real heartless battle, Manami? Felt good to be able to fight back, huh?"

"Yeah!" Manami nodded in agreement, de-summoning the Keyblade. "But... why is milk a bad reward?"

"Brother hates milk…" Al told her.

"..." Manami turned her head to hide a smirk that curled on her lips. "Explains a few things…"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ed asked, crossing his arms.

"Oh, nothing!" Manami smiled back at them, feigning innocence. "Nothing at all!"

She quickly changed the subject. "Anyway, you really can't expect anything else from a cow besides milk, right?"

Before Ed or Al could respond, they froze at the sound of rustling in the bushes. More heartless suddenly jumped out— some shadows, others yokai.

"Already?!" Ed got in a battle-ready stance. "Guess we're not done here just yet!"

"Ready for another round, Manami?" Al asked, as he and Manami summoned their weapons once more.

But then...

"_IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!"_

SLASH! Three powerful blades of energy mowed down most of the heartless, also leaving deep trenches in the ground. Any heartless that lived after that attack quickly fled, having no intention to test their luck.

Manami and the Elric brothers stared at the trenches in the ground with wide eyes, flinching at the sight of someone jumping out of the trees, landing in front of the trio…

It was a strange, silver haired boy, wearing a baggy red kimono… he had a sheathed sword at his hip, and what looked like... dog ears on his head?

"..?" Manami blinked in wonderment at the boy who didn't even notice them at first.

"I thought I smelled those creatures again…" The stranger chuckled to himself. "Heh, don't see what she was all worried about. I could take them just fine…"

He sniffed the air, then turned to face Manami, Ed, and Al. He stared at them for a moment, before he raised his eyebrow suspiciously.

All Manami could do was stare back, her mouth hanging slightly open. She could tell that he knew that they were out of place…

"Um…" Al cleared his throat. "Thanks for the help?"

"STAY RIGHT THERE!" The dog boy snarled. "You smell different from any scent I ever picked up before, and I don't trust it!"

He turned his attention to Ed. "Hey you, shrimp yokai! Start talking!"

"I'M NOT A SHRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIMP!" Ed immediately lost it, and Al quickly reached to grab and hold back his older brother from charging.

"GET OVER HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE YOU DIRTY, FLEA-RIDDEN, TICK-INFESTED, STRAY _MUTT!_"

The stranger growled lowly, revealing fangs, as his eyebrow twitched.

"You nasty little... I'M NOT PLAYING AROUND!"

This guy seemed to be just as easy to set off as Ed was... which was _really_ not a good thing.

Before Al or Manami could say anything to try to de-escalate the situation, the boy reached for his sword and went to unsheathe it… though, as he pulled it out, the blade turned into a WAY bigger blade than it's sheath. The sword itself looked like a fang!

"Whoa!" Manami and Al cried.

"Now you're going to tell me what the hell you're doing here, or else!"

"P-Please, wait!" Al pleaded, still holding on to Ed. "We don't wish to fight, really!"

"Ed, say you're sorry!" Manami looked to Ed, eyes wide with fear.

"Him first!" Ed barked, still too angry to reason with.

"Now's not the time, brother!"

"SIT, BOY!"

Manami heard a different voice, but before she could look, the boy in front of them suddenly face planted into the ground with a loud THUD!

"Wh...What is GOING ON?!" Manami shrieked, flinching as someone emerged from the trees.

"Inuyasha! Were you seriously about to pick a fight with these people? They haven't even done anything worth attacking them over! You are SUCH a jerk!"

Manami looked up to see her... the same girl in the school uniform as Roy showed her in the transmission earlier.

_"That's..!"_

"Ugh... stay back, Kagome!" The boy snarled, pushing himself up to sit on his hands and knees. "These guys could be bad news! Those weird black creatures start appearing and attacking people everywhere, and then suddenly these guys show up? They have to know something!"

"And your idea was to pick a fight with them instead of just asking questions?" The girl yelled at him, putting her hands on her hips. "How are you supposed to learn anything that way?

"I could always beat the answers out of 'em." The boy spat, standing upright. "Besides... he started it."

"Like hell I did!" Ed snapped.

The girl chuckled nervously, stepping in between her friend and the trio. "Sorry about that! I swear, he meant no harm, really!"

She then looked over Manami and the Elric brothers, particularly drawn to Manami, as well as her attire.

"Huh... did you... come from the future too?"

"Huh?" Manami blinked. "The future? No, we came from another wo—"

Before Manami could finish, Al rushed over and covered her mouth, even faking a sneeze.

"B-Bless you, Manami!" He chuckled nervously, but then leaned down to whisper to her.

"We can't tell them that we're from another world..!"

"Why not?" Manami whispered back. "Wouldn't being honest make it easier to tell them what we came here to do?"

"Wh-What she was going to say was that we're, uh... travelers! From a faraway land!" Ed spoke up over their whispering.

"..." The dog boy crossed his arms, frowning in disapproval. "They're suspicious, alright…"

"L-Listen, I think we just got off on the wrong foot! Um... care to introduce us, Manami?" Al squeaked.

"Okay, everybody… weapons down!"

Manami was first to lower the Keyblade, Al letting Ed go before they both lowered their weapons.

"Okay, so… hi…" She awkwardly waved with her free hand. "My name is Manami."

She then gestured to the suit of armor standing beside her. "This is Al, and the short—"

"WHAT?"

"—tempered one… is Ed." Manami finished, shooting Ed a glare.

Ed crossed his arms and turned his head.

"Nice to meet you!" The girl in the school uniform smiled. "I'm Kagome Higurashi."

Kagome looked to the boy with the dog ears expectantly, and he rolled his eyes as he sheathed his sword.

That sword shouldn't have been able to fit, but… it did.

"I'm Inuyasha." He grumbled. "Now that we got introductions out of the way, explain."

"Well you see... those creatures you fought? They're called the heartless." Al explained. "If we don't find out where they're coming from soon, they'll continue to spread and slowly take over everything!

"I knew it." Inuyasha frowned at Kagome. "Told ya they knew something."

"Heartless?" Kagome blinked. "Is that what they're called?"

'Yeah." Ed nodded. "They're basically beings of darkness devoid of emotions. Manami is here to take them off your hands!"

"And how does she plan to go about that?" Inuyasha looked at Manami, his expression judgmental.

"Um…" Manami tried not to let herself get intimidated under his hard look.

If anything, it was hard to explain what she was here to do, if she wasn't particularly allowed to tell them...

"Well... you know... I was gonna destroy them... with this?" She smiled nervously, holding up her Keyblade to display.

"..." Inuyasha only frowned deeper. "Last I checked, I just took them out for you."

"H-Hey, we did take some out before you showed up, you know..!" Manami retorted, feeling a little defensive.

_"This isn't going well…"_ The Elric brothers thought.

"Actually, she's going to seal them up!" Ed stepped in. "We just need to figure out where they're coming from so she can seal them away once and for all."

"And then we'll be out of your hair!" Al nodded in agreement. "We promise!"

"... I don't trust them." Inuyasha crossed his arms. "This could be another trick. They could even be working with Naraku."

"Naraku?" Manami blinked, but neither of them heard her.

"Well, we kind of have no choice." Kagome shook her head. "They seem to know more about these strange creatures than we do, and they're the best lead we got. We can't afford to be too paranoid."

"We can't afford to be too trusting either." Inuyasha sighed, but it seemed like Kagome wasn't going to let this go. "... if you guys are really who you say you are, then I guess you wouldn't care if we tagged along? That way, I can keep an eye on you."

"Huh?!" Manami and Ed's eyes widened.

"No, this could be a good thing!" Al whispered to them. "He probably knows this world like the back of his hand!"

"Right…"

"Well, I think that's a good idea." Kagome announced. "I mean, with the others missing, we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Hold on," Manami interjected. "You said people are missing?"

"..." Kagome slowly nodded, looking down sadly. "Yeah, our friends... ever since these weird creatures showed up, we haven't been able to find them."

Manami looked back to meet Ed with the same worried expression that she herself wore.

"..." Manami looked back to Kagome and Inuyasha. "I'm... looking for someone, too... we might find them all at the same place. I think we should work together... if that's okay."

"I was the one who suggested it." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Heh, yeah…" Manami nervously rubbed the back of her head. "Right…"

"Let's head to the village for now." Kagome suggested, and everyone nodded in approval before they began to walk.

**[Inuyasha and Kagome have joined the party]**

**[Location: Feudal Era]**


	10. Chapter 10

As Manami and the Elric brothers walked with Inuyasha and Kagome down a long dirt road towards the village, Al looked to Kagome.

"Excuse me, but you said something about 'being from the future.' What's that about?"

"Oh well…" Kagome smiled nervously. "I guess you can all tell I'm not from here. I often travel from my time through the Bone-Eaters well…"

"Wait, so you're a _time traveler?_" Ed asked, incredulously.

"Well... Kinda?" Kagome smiled sheepishly. "I can just go back and forth from here to home though."

"Time travel… that's amazing!" Al said, sounding excited.

"Why are you telling everything to people you just met?" Inuyasha asked, annoyance in his tone. "You shouldn't be blabbering about that, you know."

"I'm just making conversation…" Kagome muttered.

"What year is it in your time?" Manami asked. "Compared to what year it is here?"

"Well…" Kagome looked up in thought. "We're in the Feudal Era, so it's somewhere in the 1500's... and my time is the year 2000."

Manami smiled a little. "Wow… awesome!"

"Wait, what year is it _here?_" Inuyasha snapped his head to look at Manami. "Don't you know how to tell dates where you're from?"

"Ah..!" Manami's eyes widened, realizing her mistake too late.

"U-Uh!" Al stammered. "Manami's forgetful! _Really_ forgetful!"

"Yeah! Ahahahaha...ah…" Ed's nervous laughter faded, and he looked to Kagome to change the subject.

"Still, not sure why you'd wanna come here. I mean, it's crawling with yokai, wild animals, and who knows what... plus, I'm sure you really miss the conveniences of home, such as being able to take a bath. What could you possibly keep coming here for—"

He stopped mid-sentence, glancing between her and Inuyasha.

"..."

"Are you two dating?"

"E-EH!?" Kagome squealed, both her and Inuyasha's faces burning scarlet. "Well... you see, um…"

"Heck no!" Inuyasha barked. "Like I could ever want to be with some mangy, frail, shrill, annoying, obnoxious huma—"

"SIT BOY!"

BOOM! Inuyasha fell face first into the ground. Manami caught sight of his necklace seemingly pulling him down.

Was it some kind of spell?

"As I was saying…" Kagome huffed. "It's because I kind of have a debt to pay off. You see, a long time ago, I accidentally shattered something known as the Sacred Jewel into fragments... and it's been my job to find them because well, I have the power to see and locate them. Buuuut it's taking awhile…"

"Sacred Jewel?" Al tilted his head.

"That's _enough,_ Kagome…" Inuyasha growled, now standing up. "We got enough demons looking for those jewel shards, we don't need these guys trying to snag them too."

Inuyasha's eyes moved to glare at Manami, who shrunk a little in intimidation.

"So…" She quickly went to change the subject. "Other than the creatures, you haven't seen anything else out of the ordinary?"

"Other than you three... nope." Inuyasha replied.

"... I see…" Manami resisted the urge to sigh.

It felt like no matter what she did or said, this guy wouldn't trust them.

"_What should we do..?"_

Before she could think any more, they reached the top of the hill, and they stopped to overlook the whole village.

"Wow..!" Manami gasped, taking in the sight. There weren't any cars, sidewalks, roads, or anything…

"It's like stepping into something from a book or a painting…" Al said.

"..?" Inuyasha suddenly lifted his head to sniff the air.

"... IT'S AN AMBUSH!"

"What?!" Manami quickly turned to see several heartless appear around them. There were 3 shadows, 2 Kitsunes, and 2 Tanuki.

Kagome gasped as Inuyasha pulled his giant sword out of his little sheath. "S-So close to the village?!"

"We can't let them get in!" Manami summoned her Keyblade and stood in a battle-ready stance.

The shadows attacked first, attempting to headbutt and slash at them with their claws. The Tanuki spread out around them, bouncing around on their round bodies, while the Kitsunes floated in the air, shooting blue flames at them.

Inuyasha wasted no time, slashing at one of the Tanuki, but it simply bounced over him and avoided the attack. Before it could get away, Al threw his lance like a javelin and managed to hit it.

"Manami, I'm gonna make an opening for you to attack!" Ed called. "Ready?"

Manami nodded firmly and braced herself. "Ready!"

Ed clapped his hands, transmuting a wall that exploded into a blast of stones, pelting the Kitsune heartless and making them flinch.

"Now!"

Manami charged, wailing on them all with slash combos, before finishing with a fireball that exploded in their faces.

They suddenly disappeared, and for a moment, Manami thought she defeated them… but she quickly turned and saw that they merely teleported a safe distance away from her. Ed followed up by transmuting sharp icicles and shot them, managing to land a few more hits.

Meanwhile, the Tanuki heartless were still bouncing around, knocking Al around with their tails.

"Ugh, get away!" Al managed to bat them away, but they only bounced out of range of his lance and threw leaves, like throwing knives. Before they could hit, Inuyasha stepped in front of Al and readied his sword.

"WIND SCAR!" He slammed down his sword and unleashed a powerful blast of energy that plowed the ground in front of him. The shadow heartless were caught in the fray, immediately destroyed, but the Tanuki heartless teleported before they could get hit.

"?!" Both Inuyasha and Al looked behind them to see that the Tanuki heartless had teleported behind them, and were both hit by their tails and knocked to the ground.

"!" Manami raised her Keyblade to the sky. "THUNDER!"

Lightning bolts struck from the sky, managing to hit all of the heartless and destroy one of the Kitsunes, while stunning the rest. Ed took this opportunity to transmute stone fists that rose from the ground and knocked the remaining heartless away, so that Al and Inuyasha could get up.

Before Manami could ask if they were alright, The other Kitsune heartless attacked her, pelting her with a ball of flame.

Kagome raised her bow and shot an arrow at the Kitsune heartless, but it disappeared before it could land.

"What?!" Kagome gasped as the Kitsune heartless suddenly appeared right in front of her. She held her bow up as the Kitsune shot a fireball, and set it aflame. Kagome was quick to drop her burning bow, now defenseless as the Kitsune heartless went to whip her with its tail.

She closed her eyes and braced herself, before… WHACK!

Kagome opened her eyes to see Manami had gotten in front of her in the nick of time, blocking the Kitsune heartless's tail with her Keyblade.

"KAGOME!" Inuyasha cried from several feet away.

"Don't worry, I'm fine!" Kagome assured him. "Just focus on finishing these things off!"

Just as she said that, Al thrusted his lance into the ground so hard, he created a miniature shock wave, stunning one of the Tanuki. He quickly stabbed it and finished it off, while the other bounced away.

Manami took aim at the remaining Kitsune heartless that was floating around, casting Blizzard to freeze it and make it fall to the ground. Inuyasha quickly followed up, slashing the creature in two. At that same moment, Ed had transmuted stone spikes that chased the last Tanuki heartless, and finally managed to impale it and destroy it.

All of the heartless were defeated. Manami took a moment to catch her breath, while Inuyasha rushed to Kagome.

Aside from a little bit of ash from the burned bow on her dress and hands, she was unharmed. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry, I'm fine! Really! Manami was able to jump in just in time." She assured him, looking down to what used to be her bow on the ground.

"Buuuuuuut... I will need a new bow though…"

"Well, I'm sure we can get one in the village." Inuyasha followed her glance to the pile of ash, then looked to Manami and the Elric brothers.

"... thanks." He seemed reluctant to say it.

"Hm?" Al blinked. "Oh, for helping you out? You're welcome!"

"Not that!" Inuyasha sighed heavily. "I can handle those things in my sleep! I only said that 'cause _she_ kept Kagome from getting hurt."

"Thank you, Manami." Kagome smiled warmly at the Keyblade wielder, making her smile back at them.

"No problem at all…" She turned to look to the village. "We should hurry, before more show up."

The group made their way to the village, and to their relief they found that there was a marketplace. Inuyasha went with Kagome to a weapons merchant to get a new bow, leaving Manami and the Elric brothers alone for a moment.

They looked around, noting that nothing that was sold here would be necessarily useful on their journey… but Al was the first to notice one _particular_ stand.

"Hey, isn't that…" He pointed. "It's that cow from before!"

Manami and Ed looked over and saw Arakawa. Manami smiled at the sight of her as she led the Elric brothers to approach her stand. They immediately saw that what she had to sale could be of good use to them. New items, accessories, and weapons...

Below, there was a sign that read, "All proceeds go to a dairy farm."

"I don't like it." Ed muttered. "Cows make Milk. Can't trust them."

"But we can use some of this stuff!" Al looked down to Ed. "At least whatever we can afford. Huh, it also says she saves progress too... what's that mean?"

**[Do you wish to save?]**

"Better safe than sorry." Manami nodded.

Arakawa then pulled out a pen, and the trio watched as she began to draw. It looked like she was drawing manga panels, documenting the teams exploits up until that point. She drew at an amazingly rapid pace, finishing within a minute or two.

When she finished, Arakawa put away the drawings along with the pen and wiped her brow with a silent "phew."

"..." The trio stared at her in disbelief.

"How did she... How _does_ she...?" Ed trailed off.

"I... don't think we should question it…" Al chuckled nervously.

"Heh, thank you, Arakawa!" Manami grinned, deciding to just roll with it.

The little cow nodded, before gesturing to the items she had for sale.

**[For Sale:**

**Potions (Heals HP)**

**Ether (Recovers MP)**

**Arakawa Farms Milk (Boosts Defense temporarily, but ONLY for Manami)**

**Antique Pocket Watch (Accessory for Edward. Increases Magic slightly)**

**Kitten Plush (Accessory for Alphonse. Increases Defense slightly)**

**Blue Pineapple Charm (Accessory for Manami. Increases Attack and Magic slightly)**

**Elemental Gloves (Weapon for Edward. Increases Magic and Attack)**

**Knight Lance (Weapon for Alphonse. Increases Attack and Defense)]**

Manami glanced in her wallet to check her funds before making her purchase.

**[Purchase 3 Potions, 1 Ether, and the Blue Pineapple Charm]**

Manami paid Arakawa and was handed the items. She put on her new charm, smiling at the sight of it.

* * *

The trio moved on, looking through the village as they walked. Everything and everyone seemed to be so... primitive. Occasionally, someone would approach them and either ask Al about his armor, ask Ed if he was a yokai, or ask Manami where she got her amazing clothes..

"If someone calls me an imp one more time... I swear…" Ed's eyebrow was twitching.

"People want to buy my armor... but I _am_ the armor. It's weird…" Al complained.

"Where the hell did those two go?" Ed looked around. "This village is starting to get on my nerves!"

"Up here!"

The trio turned and looked up to see that Inuyasha was standing atop one of the roofs of the houses, carrying Kagome in a piggyback fashion.

"Sorry we took so long!" Kagome waved.

"You done yet?" Inuyasha asked. "We're gonna go to Kaede's place to ask her what to do next. I'll lead you there."

"Kaede?" Manami blinked, not recognizing the name.

"The village priestess." Kagome clarified. "She might have an idea where these creatures are coming from."

Manami looked back to the Elric brothers, silently asking them what they thought.

"I doubt she knows about the heartless, but she might have an idea of where the keyhole is…" Ed said. "Or at least know some kind of legend about it."

"Right." Manami nodded, looking back to Inuyasha and Kagome. "Lead the way!"

* * *

And so, the trio followed Inuyasha and Kagome to a little hut on the outskirts of the village. They stepped inside to find an elderly woman, dressed in a beautiful kimono.

"Lady Kaede, this is Manami, Ed, and Al." Kagome introduced them, pointing them out as she listed their names.

"Hmm…" Kaede looked at them, as if she were focusing on them. "I sense something about these three…"

"Something bad?" Inuyasha asked, suspicion in his tone.

"No…" Kaede shook her head. "Something... other-wordly. Not like man, beast, or demon…"

"UUUUUUUUUM…" Manami cleared her throat, visibly nervous.

"They came here to fight the new creatures that have appeared…" Kagome looked to Kaede. "They don't know where they're coming from, we were hoping you might have figured out something?"

"There have been stories about frequent attacks by strange demons in the mountain trail." Kaede explained. "I have no doubt it's these new creatures you speak of."

"The mountains? Strange…" Kagome looked up in thought. "I haven't detected any sacred jewel shards from that direction…"

"Well, we know that they're not demons, so it's possible that they're not after the jewel shards…" Inuyasha frowned. "Either that, or maybe they've figured out a way to hide them under our noses. Literally. I haven't even picked up the scent of Miroku, Sango, Shippo, or Kilala anywhere... so who knows what else they can hide."

"Well, that's why we're here," Al assured them. "Manami can definitely help!"

"So... you're familiar with these creatures?" Kaede looked to Manami.

"_Not exactly…" _Manami thought to herself, but still put on a smile that feigned confidence.

"Yeah." She lied. "I'm concerned about the fact that people are missing. You see, I'm looking for someone, too…" Her smile faded a little at the thought of Kai.

"I see… so, it's possible that you may find who you're looking for along with those we're looking for." Kaede said.

"Exactly." Manami nodded again. "So, I think working together to fight the heartless is our best bet."

"You know... you still haven't explained what these 'heartless' are." Inuyasha crossed his arms.

"Well…" Manami looked to the Elric brothers for assistance. She didn't know how to explain without telling too much...

"We don't know everything," Al started. "But we do know that they come in all shapes and sizes, and cause great damage if they're left unchecked. They're far more dangerous than Yokai, but we can get rid of them if we can figure out where they're coming from."

"If what you say is true, we better hope Naraku doesn't learn to harness their power for himself." Kagome thought aloud.

"Naraku..?" Manami tilted her head.

"Naraku... a man who allowed demons to devour his flesh, so that he himself could become a demon…" Kagome explained.

"And a coward, who would do anything to get the Sacred Jewel shards." Inuyasha added. "Knowing him, he'd likely want to exploit these heartless for his personal gain; anything it would take to boost his own power, he'll do it."

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news…" Ed frowned. "But if that's the case, that could be why your friends are missing. He could already be using these heartless to capture you, one by one. After all, power comes in numbers... so it makes sense that he's lessening that number for you."

"... he could even be trying to turn them into heartless, themselves…" Al added, as if he just realized that fact.

Manami looked up to Al with wide eyes, also not having thought of that fact until just now.

"What?!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "If he can do that, then what are we waiting for?! We have to get to the mountains as soon as possible!"

"Proceed with caution, Inuyasha…" Kaede warned. "If Naraku has found the source of these creatures first, he's likely awaiting your arrival to spring his plan into action…"

Kaede looked to Manami and the Elric brothers. "That goes for you three, as well."

"Well, the fact that you guys are here could definitely be a huge help! After all, Naraku doesn't know who you are, what you can do, or that you're even here!" Kagome paused "... at least I hope not."

"We need to prepare for the fact that we very well could be walking into a death trap." Ed shook his head. "If this Naraku guy is working with the heartless, it's very possible that they already notified him that we're here."

"So, we agree that waiting around is pointless!" Inuyasha said. "I say we charge in and fight our way through!"

"Inuyasha, planning _isn't_ worthless!" Kagome argued.

"..." Manami had been silent, looking down to her feet and thinking to herself as the others talked.

"It's not, but..." She looked up at everyone. "I think the best plan _is_ charging in."

Everyone looked to her in surprise.

"They may know we're here... but it's possible that they don't know _everything_ we can do, yet." She continued. "The more time we give them to figure that out and report it to Naraku— or worse, capturing us one by one— the harder it'll be for us."

She sighed, looking like she wasn't happy with what she was about to say. "Ambushing when he's got the least amount of knowledge... it's risky, but... that's the gamble."

"But..." Al started to interject.

"Hate to say it, but I agree." Ed nodded, then looked up to Al.

"Look, if push comes to shove, all we can do is just guard Manami with our lives, so she can seal up the heartless for good."

"..." Manami's eyes narrowed a little.

"_Protect me… with their lives?"_

For whatever reason, those words got under her skin.

Ed continued speaking, not noticing the change in Manami's expression. "We'll charge in, but under no circumstances can we leave Manami alone!"

"Right…" Al nodded to his brother.

"I guess we have no choice…" Kagome sighed.

"..." Manami went to open her mouth to say something, but Kaede spoke first.

"This is worrisome, but I trust your judgement…" Kaede stepped forward. "All I can do is wish you the best of luck... while I am aware that Inuyasha knows his way, I suggest you take this…"

The old woman handed Manami a piece of rolled up parchment.

"What's this?" Manami asked, looking up from the paper in her hands.

"It's a map that was made by miners who frequently went to the mountains for resources. Even if Inuyasha knows the outside, he may not know the man made tunnels on the inside."

"Thank you very much, Miss Kaede…" Manami bowed her head respectfully, before looking back to the Elric brother, Inuyasha, and Kagome.

"... ready?"

"I've been ready!" Inuyasha seemed antsy to leave.

"Same here." Ed agreed.

"Yeah, I am too." Al nodded.

"In that case, let's go!" Kagome said.

* * *

**(Meanwhile, in a dark shrine, surrounded by a fog of Miasma…)**

"These creatures have assimilated with my being faster than I expected… I must say, it does feel like they're trying to burrow themselves into my heart."

"Can you blame them? They hunger for a heart as dark as yours. Shame as you've already separated yourself from it, but I suppose a man of your stature has no need for one."

Naraku looked up to Lust, who sat across from him, with her legs crossed.

"It seems... with this new power comes a new burden." He mused. "Those outsiders who have come to this world... they can take away my new power if I'm not cautious, can they not?"

A small smile curled on Lust's lips, as she flicked a strand of hair over her shoulder. "You're a big strong man, aren't you? I'm sure you can handle a few children."

"I am beyond a mere man." Naraku shook his head. "Especially now that I have these powers... and their friends— you say they, too, shall be under my control?"

"Of course. Once the process is complete and they're fully changed into heartless, they'll be puppets under your command." Lust assured him.

"Isn't the thought just so... sadistically invigorating? To know you'll have complete domination of all your former enemies, that they'll be nothing more than mere playthings... and you'll have whatever or whomever you wish."

"Heartless and demons... once they're all under my power, nothing will stop me from obtaining the sacred jewel shards." Naraku smirked to himself. "Who knows... corrupting them even further will just become all the easier."

After a moment, his smile faded. "Although... you mentioned playthings... how can I be sure that you don't see_ me_ as one, yourself?"

"It depends…" Lust's smirk grew bigger. "Would you like to be one of mine?"

"Hmph…" Naraku chuckled darkly. "Tempting, but I'll humbly reject. You know what I mean, outsider. Such power doesn't come without a price... and I doubt I was given this from the kindness of your heart."

He paused. "But... looking at you, I can immediately see that you lack one of those."

"Very observant…" Lust went to stand up. "But, if you don't trust me, you can always surrender that power and return it to me…"

Naraku frowned, saying nothing. Lust let out a chuckle.

"Of course, I doubt you'd be foolish enough to let it go." She turned to walk away. "I'll leave you be, then…"

Naraku watched as she created a dark portal with just the wave of her hand, and disappeared inside it.

He was certain that she had an ulterior motive…

He eventually dismissed the thought, convincing himself that he would deal with her later. For now, he knew that Inuyasha and the outsiders were on their way, and he had to make his next move…

_"Perhaps I should send Kagura to pay them a visit… she could sample their power for me."_ He thought.

_It would be foolish to make a move without knowing what I'm up against... especially if it's not from my world."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Hi everyone! I hope you're all enjoying the fanfiction so far!

To make up for a slightly less word count than normal per chapter, I thought I'd update you guys on a few things:

1\. Yes, this fanfiction_ finally_ has a cover image. It's about time, right? Well, it turns out that that cover image was my dream drawing for a while now, so I thought I'd humblebrag that there's a full-size version on my DeviantArt account under the same name (Bizcooitz)! There, you'll also find other things I've worked on, like character design and outfit concepts for both Manami and Kai. By all means, head over there and check those out to get a feel for what the kiddos look like! I will say, the outfit designs kind of spoil the future worlds that will be visited, so just keep that in mind.

2\. You may have noticed that every now and then, there's some "prompts" that you would see in regular Kingdom Hearts games. If you didn't know already, my co-writer and I roleplay this story before I later convert it to fanfiction and post here. In our roleplay, we definitely have a much bigger "gaming" dynamic, that sometimes is difficult to translate to the fanfiction. For example, we "save the game" with our favorite cow friend Arakawa, earn experience and munni for every battle, have an item inventory, and make purchases such as the one in this chapter— but with an actual munni budget. I made the creative decision to keep some prompts, such as missions, saving, and purchases; while not including others. I understand that this can sometimes pull the reader out of the story, but I try to make it as understandable as possible, as if you readers were watching someone else play the game.

And, of course, thank you for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

After Kaede bid them farewell, the group walked down a forest trail that led to the mountains. After a while of walking in silence, Manami was the first to speak up.

"So... um... can I ask more about this Naraku guy?" She asked. "Like... what kind of fighter he is? Just so we know what we're dealing with."

"Well, he's literally made up of demons which all attack from his body, and uses all kinds of poison! Poison bugs, poison miasma…" Kagome trailed off.

"But he also has a habit of bailing, so we could make short work of him and send him running with his tail between his legs." Inuyasha added.

"Poison, huh?" Ed whispered to Al, tapping on his armor. "Heh, you got nothing to worry about then, right?"

The group stopped in front of a dark looking forest. Kagome stopped in her tracks, her brows furrowing.

"..." Inuyasha looked back at her. "What's up?"

Manami and the Elric brothers stopped walking and turned to her.

"I don't know…" Kagome answered. "I just... suddenly got a bad feeling…"

Manami glanced back at the dark forest before looking back at her. "I mean... I'm not gonna lie, the forest does look scary…"

"We should be alright!" Al assured them both.

"Of course we're gonna be alright." Inuyasha said, matter of factly. "I'm protecting you, remember?"

Manami noticed Kagome's cheeks flush a small tint of red, and couldn't help but grin at the sight of them.

_"Oh, they're cute."_ She thought.

"Right! And we're gonna protect you, Manami!" Al's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Manami looked back to Ed and Al, her smile fading a little.

"Yup! Don't you worry!" Ed said in agreement.

"..." Manami's smile faded entirely now. She remembered what Ed said earlier…

"_All we can do is just guard Manami with our lives…"_

"... hey—"

"Let's get going already!" Inuyasha said, not noticing that he spoke over Manami, to where Ed and Al didn't hear her. He was the first to run in the forest with Kagome on his back, and everyone followed him.

* * *

The deeper they got into the forest, the creepier it got. The trees were withered instead of their lush green, and Yokai were in place of standard woodland animals, scurrying out of the way as the group walked past them. Even looking up, they could see Yokai flying overhead, but none of them swooped down to attack.

"The demons are fleeing this forest…" Inuyasha said. "So, that means those heartless things are definitely ahead!"

"We gotta be careful," Ed warned. "Not all heartless are small fries like the ones we've fought so far."

"Right." Everyone nodded.

Suddenly, Inuyasha came to a complete stop.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, as he let her off his back.

"I smell them." He reached for his sword. "Watch it, they're coming!"

Suddenly, water discs came flying out of the brush to the side of them. Al stepped in front of Manami to deflect the discs from hitting her as she summoned the Keyblade. Inuyasha pulled out his sword and Ed transmuted his automail arm into a blade.

"Starting to think there's no point in changing it back to normal…" He muttered to himself.

Two shadow heartless emerged behind them, while four Kappa heartless jumped out from the trees. Manami's eyes widened at the sight of two different heartless appearing as well... they looked like clusters of snakes, centipedes, and other long creatures, all connected by the tips of their tails.

She frowned in disgust. They were so gross looking...

The Kappa heartless threw more discs of water towards the group while the cluster heartless extended large serpent heads to snap down at them. Inuyasha and Kagome jumped to one side, while Ed jumped in the opposite direction, leaving Al and Manami together as they also dodged.

"ADAMANT BARRAGE!" Inuyasha raised his sword that crystalized before he unleashed a blast of large crystal fragments at the heartless, hitting the two clusters directly.

Manami stood back to back with Al and she slashed at a shadow heartless. She figured that it was best to take out the heartless she was most familiar with first, while observing the new ones and hoping she could see a weak spot.

Just as a Kappa heartless readied a water disc, Ed quickly casted Thunder. A lightning bolt came down on it, and its head began to evaporate and shrivel up… while it was stunned, he quickly took it out.

"Manami! I figured something out!" He called. "The weird ones with the turtle shells; if you can make the water evaporate, they'll dry up and be immobiized!"

"Got it!" Manami called back, managing to destroy the shadow heartless she was dealing with.

Meanwhile, the other shadow heartless jumped on Inuyasha's back and bit his shoulder.

"Grah!" He ripped it off his back and threw it into the air, then slashed it with his claws.

Meanwhile, Al was taking on one of the cluster heartless. With every attack, some insects fell from it to the ground. Just as Kagome shot an arrow at it, some insects fell off to reveal a comb-like center with eyes.

"! That's it's weak spot!"

Manami casted Thunder to stun the Kappa heartless in front of her, so that Ed could follow up with a slash combo with his automail blade. She then charged at the cluster heartless, stabbing her Keyblade into the center.

It was stunned. Manami kept the Keyblade inside the heartless, casting three fireballs inside.

With the third round of flame, the cluster heartless exploded. Meanwhile, Ed casted Fire at the Kappa he was dealing with, destroying it.

Manami then threw her Keyblade like a boomerang at the group of Kappa heartless, managing to hit them all and do some damage.

"IRON REAVER SOUL STEALER!" Inuyasha clawed his way through the last shadow heartless, taking it out instantly.

Ed clapped his hands and transmuted a cannon, shooting at the cluster heartless, in hopes to get it to reveal its center once more… but it suddenly extended it's serpent heads, wrapping around him and Inuyasha, constricting them tightly.

"!" Manami took aim and casted Fire at the cluster, making it release Ed and Inuyasha, as Al impaled a Kappa heartless and annihilated it. He then turned to focus on the cluster, throwing his lance at it. He hit it and it fell to the ground, stunning it.

"Manami!" He called, as he summoned his lance back to his hand. "Let's do our team attack!"

"Okay!" Manami jumped on Al's lance, and he swung it with such intensity that she was launched at the group of heartless. She spun, holding her Keyblade out and landing numerous blows to the heartless. She managed to destroy not only the Kappa, but the cluster as well, while the remaining Kappa was knocked towards Ed and Inuyasha.

Together, they slashed it in midair with their blades, destroying it.

"That takes care of them." Inuyasha looked around. "Is Kagome okay?!"

"Yeah!" Al had Kagome in his sight. "She's right here!"

"Yup! Don't worry, I'm safe." Kagome stepped out from the trees. "Now, let's keep going, Inuyasha!"

"... something stinks." Inuyasha frowned, then suddenly aimed his sword at her.

"HUH?!" Manami's eyes went wide.

"WHOA! Hold on!" Ed said nervously. "I thought she was your friend!"

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?!" Al stepped in front of Kagome protectively.

"YOU!" Inuyasha bared his teeth. "Get out of the way right now!"

"Have you lost your mind!?" Ed yelled.

"I'M TELLING YOU TO STEP ASIDE!" Inuyasha roared to Al.

Manami was about to interject, but she suddenly saw Kagome's eyes shimmer a bright purple, and a small smirk spread across her lips.

"! AL—"

Suddenly, Al's helmet went flying, but Manami managed to catch it.

"?!" Ed whipped his head to look back at Al. "What the—"

"HEY!" Al looked back to Kagome. "Why'd you do that, Kagome?!"

'Because that's not Kagome!" Inuyasha growled in frustration.

Suddenly, "Kagome" jumped into the air, sprouting a fox tail.

"I knew I smelled something rotten... ANSWER ME! WHERE IS SHE?!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Damn!" Ed gritted his teeth. "She must have gotten kidnapped while we were focused on fighting!"

The "fox" Kagome then summoned flames to rain down on them, but Manami was quick to cast Blizzard to deflect it. The deflection created a small fog of steam, which blinded the fox. Inuyasha took the opportunity to jump up and slice it in two, leaving the two halves to fall down on the ground and dissipate.

"INUYASHA!"

The silver haired boy whipped around to where he heard Kagome's voice come from.

"KAGOME!"

Manami and the Elric brothers looked as well to see the real Kagome being pulled into a portal by heartless. Inuyasha ran to her aid, but then a bunch of portals appeared around him, a "Kagome" in each one, reaching for him and calling his name.

"Inuyasha!"

"Inuyasha, HELP!"

"Damn it…" Inuyasha took a step back. "I can't track her scent with all these fakes overpowering the air with their stench! "

"If we choose wrong, they'll ambush us or pull us who knows where!" Ed growled.

"But we can't do nothing!" Al cried.

Manami looked desperately between all the portals, trying to find something different about at least _one_ of them… she finally noticed that one of the portals seemed to be a darker hue of purple, and took it upon herself to run to it.

"?!" Ed and Al gasped. "Manami?!"

Kagome reached out for Manami, and Manami reached for her, but all the other Kagome's emerged from the portals around her and attacked at the same time.

"!" Ed was quick to clap his hands, transmuting stone walls that blocked the fake Kagomes' attacks… but also blocking Manami and Inuyasha from getting to the real Kagome.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Inuyasha snarled at Ed.

"Protecting Manami!" Ed yelled back.

"NO!" Inuyasha lept over the wall, reaching for Kagome's hand, but he was too late… as soon as her hand disappeared behind the portal, it disappeared entirely.

The fake Kagomes all shot bursts of flames simultaneously at Inuyasha, but he lifted his sword and roared.

"BACKLASH WAVE!"

He slammed his sword down and unleashed a power greater than any he had before. Not only did he deflect the flames, but he directed them _back_ at them, wiping them all out in one shot.

When the smoke cleared, they could see him standing there, and he lifted his head to yell out in anger to the sky.

"GRAAAAAH!"

"..." Manami swallowed thickly, despite still trying to catch her breath. "Inuyasha... I-I'm sorry—"

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?!" Inuyasha whipped around and roared at Ed. "WE WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP KAGOME SAFE!"

"There was no way we would have seen that coming!" Ed argued, pain washed over his expression.

He had to make a hard decision, that he knew _full-well_ that Inuyasha disagreed with.

"Please… we did everything we could!" Al pleaded.

Manami was at a loss for words, and she knew that wasn't good… she could only stare as Inuyasha turned away from them.

"Damn it... I don't have time for this!"

"Th-Then we should go." Manami stammered. "If we hurry—"

"No, _I_ should go." Inuyasha spat, glaring back at her. "You three have done enough!"

Manami flinched, feeling the sting of that comment, but she took a deep breath and continued speaking.

"I know you're upset, and you have every right to be! But we're _literally_ going to the same place, to fight the same guy, for the same goal."

She clenched her fists, her eyes narrowing as she looked down. "We... don't have to be friends…" She raised her head to meet his eye. "But we _do_ need to work together if you want the best chance to save Kagome and the others..!"

"..."

"The sooner we go, the sooner we can do that… and then we'll be out of your hair." Manami said, trying with all her might to keep a brave front…

But deep down, she wanted to cry.

"..." Inuyasha let out a heavy sigh from his nose. He seemed to be calming down…

But then, he took off, leaving them in the dust.

"HEY!" Ed called after him. "Didn't you hear what she just said?!"

"Inuyasha, wait!" Al cried, but he was long gone…

"..." Manami looked down to her feet, sadly. She didn't even have the will to call after him.

She couldn't blame him for leaving them. They promised to keep Kagome safe, and they failed.

She already failed.

"Damn it, we can't waste time with this guy." Ed said, frustrated. "We have bigger things to worry about!"

"Brother, no, we need to follow him!" Al looked to Ed. "We gotta find out where Kagome and the others are being held!"

"We came here to seal the Keyhole first!" Ed argued. "All of this can be undone if it's sealed."

"What if something we can't reverse happens to all of them, before we can seal the Keyhole?" Al asked. "We can't take that risk."

"..." Ed sighed, finally calming down a little. "You're right…"

The Elric brothers turned to look at Manami, who was still glaring at the ground.

"We made a promise." She finally said, her voice low. She looked up and began to walk in the direction that Inuyasha ran off in.

"Manami…" Al didn't know what to say. He could see in her expression that she was hurting…

"..." Manami slowly came to a stop.

"... I can't fail now… I just got started." She mumbled. "If I fail here… what hope do I have that I'll ever find Kai..?"

"..." Ed and Al glanced at each other, before sighing softly and following her.

"If we hurry… we might be able to catch up." Al finally said.

"..." Manami nodded, and the trio broke out into a run, continuing down the path that Inuyasha ran down.

* * *

The trio soon exited the forest, finding themselves approaching a mountain range... and the road split into four different paths.

"Great... which way do we go, now?" Al whined.

Manami knelt down, inspecting the ground in hopes that she would find any footprints… but she had no such luck.

"Damn it…" Ed gritted his teeth, looking around.

Manami stood up, opening her mouth to say something, but she stopped… she suddenly felt a weird sensation running up the arm she was holding the Keyblade with. Something like tingles under her skin…

"..?" Manami looked down to her hand, not seeing anything outwardly different about it… but, she couldn't shake the feeling that she somehow _recognized_ this sensation…

"..!" She realized it, after a moment. This was the same sensation that she felt coursing her body, when she sealed the Keyhole in Amestris..!

But, what did that mean?

"What's up?" Ed was first to notice her staring down at her Keyblade.

"I'm not… entirely sure?" Manami went to hold the Keyblade with both hands, pointing it towards one of the four paths in front of them.

The tingling sensation suddenly disappeared.

"..?"

"Manami?" Al asked. "What's going on?

"Yeah, why are you holding the Keyblade like that?" Ed crossed his arms and raised a brow.

Manami didn't respond, too focused on pointing the Keyblade to another one of the paths.

"..." Still, she felt nothing.

"Or ignore me. That's fine." Ed muttered.

"Shh, Ed." Al hushed his brother. "I think she's trying something new…"

They watched as she pointed the Keyblade to a third path, and her eyes widened a little. She felt the tingling sensation come back, but only slightly...

"..." And finally, she pointed the Keyblade at the last path, and she flinched when she felt the strongest sensation.

"!" She looked up to the path she was pointing to with the Keyblade. This had to be the way to go!

"This way!" She took off running before the Elric brothers could say anything, not bothering to de-summon the Keyblade.

"How do you know?!" Ed asked, as he and Al scrambled to run after her.

"The Keyblade told me!" Manami answered, not looking back.

"Sure hope that thing's good with directions!" Ed said.

Just then, a group of heartless appeared, blocking their path. There were two cluster heartless, but also three heartless that looked like bandits, wielding clubs and knives.

"Something tells me that there wouldn't be heartless blocking our way if we went the _wrong_ way!" Al said, summoning his lance.

Manami growled, gripping her Keyblade firmly in her hands. "Out of the way!"

The bandit heartless were first to attack, jumping into the air and bringing down their blades. Al stepped in front and blocked them with his lance, while Ed and Manami jumped from behind him to counter each heartless with their weapons.

After attacking, Manami jumped backwards to cast Thunder, hitting all of the heartless, the bandits even getting stunned. Ed then transmuted a stone fist to knock them into the air, and Al spun his lance to land multiple hits on them.

However, both the cluster heartless shook off some snakes and centipedes from their bodies that landed on the group. They scrambled to get the biting insects off, giving the bandit heartless ample time to recover and attack once more.

"Ghh!" They were knocked backwards, and Manami threw her Keyblade like a boomerang at them, hitting the bandit heartless all at once.

Just then, Ed and Al regrouped.

"Brother, now's our chance!"

"Right! Let's go!"

Ed transmuted Al's lance, extending its length while also turning it into a fully functioning drill. Al then began to drill attack the heartless who were further away from him, taking down one of the bandit heartless before making his way to the cluster heartless.

Ed then clapped his hands, transmuting a column that launched Al into the air. Al slammed his drill into the ground, hitting the two cluster heartless on the way down, and stunning them. Ed finished their team attack by transmuting a large amount of spikes on the battlefield, skewering every heartless and dealing heavy damage.

The bandit heartless all dissipated, while the two cluster heartless remained, their weak spots revealed.

"Nice job, guys!" Manami gave the Elric brothers a thumbs up before charging at one of the cluster heartless. Ed and Al, meanwhile, charged at the other.

Just as Manami wailed on her cluster heartless with a slash combo, Al impaled his lance into the other one. Manami finished her cluster heartless off with a fireball aimed at its core, while Ed cast Thunder, only amplifying the damage with Al's lance being used as a lightning rod.

They had no time to celebrate their victory, as Manami continued running down the path, the Elric brothers at her heels. They had to catch up to Inuyasha!

* * *

The trio advanced further down the mountain trail, but slowed when they faced a sudden gust of wind… it seemed unnatural, only getting more intense with the further they went.

"What's with this wind?" Manami asked, coming to a stop and shielding her eyes from the wind with her arm.

"I don't know…" Ed said, as he and Al stopped beside her. "But I got a bad feeling…"

Right after he said that, the group jumped out of the way as someone was flung at them, from seemingly out of nowhere.

"HEY!" Ed barked. "Watch where you're going—"

He stopped at the sight of who was getting up from the ground, and everyone's eyes widened.

"Inuyasha?!" Manami gasped.

"You again?" He glared back at them. "I don't have time for this!"

He quickly got in a battle-ready stance, bracing himself for his opponent to approach him.

"It seems my winds are too much for you, half breed... you really are nothing without your friends."

Manami's eyes widened at the sight of someone appearing before Inuyasha… it was a woman, floating on what looked like a giant feather. She was surrounded by a bunch of giant crows bearing the heartless emblem.

"?!" She didn't hesitate to charge at the woman with her Keyblade, much to Inuyasha's surprise.

"! Wait—"

"Grah!" Manami slashed at the woman, but she simply moved to the side and floated higher than she could reach. Manami then casted Thunder, in hopes to knock her and her heartless out of the sky… but the woman waved her fan, dispersing the lightning bolts with a protective barrier of wind.

"So, you must be the one Naraku warned me about…" She huffed. "So far, I'm not impressed, but I was told not to let my guard down."

"Stay out of this, Manami!" Inuyasha barked. "This is between me and her! I've faced her numerous times before you came to this world, and I'm gonna be the one who takes her down! WIND SCAAAAR!"

"Dance of the Dragons!"

Both Inuyasha and the woman attacked simultaneously, Inuyasha's wave of power colliding with her summoned tornadoes, tearing apart the terrain around them.

Inuyasha jumped back, gripping his sword tightly, but he was panting harshly… he was getting tired. It occurred to Manami that Inuyasha had probably been fighting his way through the mountain trail, and hadn't had a break.

She looked up to see crow heartless swooping down for him. Despite him telling her to stay out of it, Manami still ran in front of Inuyasha to slash away the crows.

"Grrr…" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Why don't you just butt out?!"

"Because…" Manami slashed away another crow heartless. "Whether you like it or not, I'm going to help the best I can! That's what I'm here for!"

She then looked up to the woman on the feather and prepared to cast a spell. The woman readied an attack of her own, but then…

BOOM!

Manami looked back to see that Ed had transmuted a cannon, that hit the woman dead-on! … or so he thought.

The smoke cleared, revealing the woman to be uninjured. She must had conjured a wind barrier to deflect the attack in the nick of time...

Ed and Al didn't hesitate to attack once more. They clapped their hands and together transmuted a massive stone spike, but the woman managed to evade by floating even higher and swerving to the side.

Meanwhile, the crows attacked Manami and Inuyasha once more, and they both used their blades to swat them away.

"Damn it..!" Inuyasha grunted in frustration. "Normally I'd send Kagura packing, but these heartless... they keep getting in the way! All I need is one shot!"

"I've had enough!" The woman Inuyasha referred to as Kagura roared, motioning her hand towards the Elric brothers.

Suddenly, many shadow heartless appeared around Ed and Al, circling around them and creating a vortex that began to suck them up.

"?!"

"What?!"

"!" Manami looked back to see this and quickly went to run over to them, but she was blocked off by crow heartless before she could get to them.

"OUT OF THE WAY!" She slashed them away, but more kept appearing. Before she knew it, she realized that she and Inuyasha, standing back to back now, were surrounded by the crow heartless, that seemed to be conjuring a vortex of their own.

"DANCE OF THE DRAGONS!"

"BACKLASH WAVE!"

"ED! AL!"

There was a bright flash of light, and Manami blacked out.


	12. Chapter 12

"... hey…"

Manami groaned softly, feeling something poking at her cheek as she slowly came to.

"Nggh…"

"Hey, get up!" She recognized that voice… "You said you have a job to do, don't you? So come on!"

Manami's eyes flashed open and she sat up, feeling a rush of pain course through her skull. She groaned once more and went to hold her head.

"Huh..?" She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing that she was somewhere that was _very_ dimly lit. "Where…"

"We're inside the mountain caves." She recognized the voice as Inuyasha's. "That last attack sent us into the mountain and caused a rock slide. We're stuck inside the tunnels now… can you walk?"

"..." Manami groaned again. "Inuyasha..? What…"

Her eyes widened in the darkness, looking to her side to see who she assumed was Inuyasha crouched beside her. "Ed and Al… where are they?!"

"... I'm afraid from what I saw... they were captured, just like Kagome... It's just you and me now."

"... no…" Manami quickly went to scramble to her feet, her wobbly legs causing her to stumble backwards. "No, no, no, no, no..!"

"Hey, take it easy, will ya?" Inuyasha stood, grunting as he stood up and followed after her.

Manami staggered backwards until her back hit the wall with a soft thud, and she slid down until she was sitting once again, going to hold her head in her hands.

"Damn it… this wasn't supposed to happen!"

"Look, now's not the time for—" Inuyasha suddenly grunted, falling down to one knee beside her.

"Ugh…"

Manami could hear his ragged panting in the darkness, and it snapped her out of her panic.

"H-Hey… what's wrong?"

Suddenly, the Keyblade appeared in her hand with a flash of light, illuminating rocky cave walls around them, before fading to darkness again.

"..?" But then, the blade began to glow, giving a soft blue aura to the area. It wasn't too bright, but it was enough to where Manami could see Inuyasha in front of her.

He was injured. He held his side, his hand covered in blood, making her eyes widen.

"Y-You're hurt..!" Manami didn't hesitate to reach inside her pouch and pull out a potion before offering it to him.

"Here… drink this… it'll help."

Inuyasha sniffed the small bottle before he scowled. "You're not serious, are you? Look, I don't need your pity... I'm just fine."

"Huh?" Manami blinked.

"I can recover on my own," Inuyasha grunted. "I may be a half demon, but I can heal a lot faster than any human, that's for sure."

"..." Manami sighed heavily, popping the top off the bottle with her thumb.

"Just drink it, dude."

Inuyasha flinched when she suddenly shoved the mouth of the bottle _inside_ his mouth. He reluctantly drank it, afraid he'd choke on it if he didn't…

"Ptooey!" Inuyasha spat out the bottle once he finished and stood upright. "Man, that was nasty! What the hell was that abou—"

He looked down to his wound and lifted his hand, seeing that he was no longer bleeding. In fact, he felt reinvigorated...

"... huh…" He was impressed.

"Well, at least I managed to be helpful _once_ on this wonderful excursion…" Manami pulled out another potion and drank it herself.

"_Even though I royally screwed everything else up…" _She thought. "_Just great... what now..?"_

Inuyasha looked back to Mmanami, seeing her looking disgruntled. He opened her mouth to say something, but then he got a good look at her…

She looked… genuinely heartbroken.

"..." Inuyasha clenched his fist and took a deep breath. He couldn't believe he was about to say this...

"Look…" He hesitated for a moment, but then gave her a hard look. "... I'm sorry."

"..?" Manami slowly looked up to meet his eye.

"If I hadn't charged in like that, maybe your friends wouldn't have been captured. You said I'm not the only one who lost someone, even before you got separated from those other two."

"..." Manami's eyes lowered, as she seemingly gripped at the neckline of her shirt. Little did Inuyasha know, she was holding her star-shaped pendant tightly in her hand.

"..." She finally sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I… haven't been totally honest with you, either."

"..?" Inuyasha raised a brow, his silence allowing her to continue.

"Not because I wanted to, but because I had to. I still can't say everything... but…" Manami looked down and gestured with her head towards the glowing Keyblade n her hand. "The truth is... that this thing chose me to wield it, not the other way around."

Inuyasha's eyes widened a little.

"In the blink of an eye, I lost my home, got this thing, and was told I'm now some destined hero who has to fight the heartless and save everyone and everything from the darkness... but…" Manami chuckled bitterly.

"I'm totally blowing it."

With that, she sighed and went to hug her knees with her arms, the movement of the Keyblade changing the lighting in the area slightly.

"..." Inuyasha sighed softly through his nose, going to sit on his butt beside her. "I get it. So, you were chosen to wield a legendary weapon too, huh? I can kind of relate."

Manami looked up as he looked down to gesture to his sheathed sword.

"The Tessaiga here has a mind of it's own, and my father pretty much set it up so I'd be destined to wield it. He wanted me to use it's powers to protect humans and keep them safe."

Inuyasha looked back to Manami. "I know it's not the same though, especially since I don't know everything. But if you want my advice… I think that just because you blew it once or even twice, it doesn't mean that you should give up."

Manami stared at him for a moment, before her eyes widened as she suddenly realized...

"!" She reached into her pockets, frantically looking for something.

"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, tilting his head as he watched her.

"The map..!" Manami pulled out the rolled up paper Kaede gave it, and opened it on the floor in between them.

"It shows the paths of the tunnels inside the mountain..!"

"Oh yeah, forgot about that thing." Inuyasha looked over the map with her.

"First, we need to figure out where we are…" Manami bit the inside of her cheek as she concentrated.

"Considering that these rocks are blocking off an entrance,' Inuyasha gestured to a pile of rocks nearby. "Then that helps pinpoint where we are."

And so, the half-demon and Keyblade wielder explored the immediate area, putting their heads together to discover where they were… once they figured that out, they came up with a plan of where to go next.

"Alright, I'll follow your lead." Inuyasha said. "Considering that this place is crawling with heartless, we're better off watching each others' backs. Plus, I can smell and hear enemies coming better than you can. Just... try not to get us lost."

"Yeah…" Manami turned to walk, but then stopped.

"... hey, uh…" She turned to look back at him.

"What is it?"

"I just… wanted to say thanks. You know, for the pep talk…"

Manami offered a small smile that made Inuyasha frown and turn his head.

"Don't think too much of it." He muttered. "I just couldn't stand just sitting there watching you feel sorry for yourself, that's all."

Manami could only smile sheepishly and rub the back of her neck. Inuyasha was a little harsh, but he was fair...

"Now let's go already!" Inuyasha barked. "We can't waste any time."

"Mm." Manami hummed and gave him a nod before turning to walk again.

Thanks to Inuyasha, she had a new found confidence, and her mind was clear.

* * *

Manami and Inuyasha walked through the maze-like tunnels of the cave, thankful that they had a map, as well as Manami's glowing Keylade, to lead them the right way.

Suddenly, Inuyasha came to a stop, his ears twitching. He quickly reached for the handle of his sword.

"Be on your guard. They're closing in!"

Manami braced herself as a cluster heartless appeared before them, three shadow heartless accompanying it.

Inuyasha went to draw his sword, but his giant blade extended and hit the low ceiling above them.

"Damn…" Inuyasha immediately resheathed the sword. "I can't use my Tessaiga like this… there's not enough room to swing it around."

He then went to crack his knuckles. "Well, gonna have to do this the old fashioned way!"

Lucky for Manami, she summoned her smaller Keyblade and didn't face the same problem. She had to be careful, but she could still swing the Keyblade.

"Let's do this!" She pointed her Keyblade at the group of heartless and casted Blizzard, intending to hit them all while they were together.

Inuyasha took the opportunity to lunge forward, punching one shadow heartless in the face before clawing at another. The third tried slamming into its stomach, but he moved out of the way and slashed at its back.

Meanwhile, the cluster heartless extended a bunch of tentacles from its body to reach for Manami. She quickly threw her Keyblade to hit it in the head before it grabbed hold of her, knocking it down and stunning it.

"Yah!" She charged, slashing it multiple times and knocking off a bunch of insects, but it recovered and used its tentacles to bite her and whip her away.

"Oof!" Manami fell on her back, but she was quick to get up, seeing that Inuyasha stood in front of her.

"I got this one." He told her, looking over his shoulder at her. "You handle the shrimps!"

"Right!"

As Inuyasha rushed to the cluster heartless, Manami casted Thunder on the shadow heartless that surrounded her, taking out one immediately. Inuyasha plunged his claws into the exposed core of the cluster heartless, earning bites from it's serpent heads.

"Gah!" Inuyasha toughed it out, slashing inside the cluster heartless as much as he could.

"?!" Manami looked over and saw Inuyasha getting bitten, the tendrils even entangling him.

"Let go!" Inuyasha used his free hand to punch the cluster over and over again, wearing it down.

While Manami was distracted, one of the shadow heartless slashed its claws along her back.

"GAH!" She swung her Keyblade and slashed it in two. She then pointed the Keyblade at the remaining shadow heartless and shot a fireball.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha wailed on the cluster heartless until he finally managed to rip it in two. After destroying it, he looked over and saw Manami destroy the last shadow heartless.

Both of them took a moment to catch their breath.

"Hey, do yourself a favor and try to be focused, will ya?" Inuyasha looked over to Manami. "I saw what happened back there. You gotta take care of yourself first before you worry about others, otherwise you won't help anyone at all."

"Huh?" Manami raised a brow. "You're lecturing me for worrying about you?" She asked, incredulously.

"Yeah, you got yourself hurt because of it." Inuyasha gestured to her back. "I do this kind of thing every day, so I'll be fine. You're the one who lacks experience."

Manami frowned at him, but took a deep breath and looked down to her feet.

"I guess it's a force of habit…" She mumbled, thinking of Kai.

When they were little, she was the one who would stand in between Kai and a bully, telling him to go away and leave them alone… sometimes they would retaliate, but it was always something Manami worried about when the time came...

"Well it's a habit you're gonna have to grow out of…" Inuyasha began walking. "Last thing I need is to tell your friends that something happened to you just because you were trying to save me."

Manami followed him, but her frown grew deeper.

"Why do you say 'grow out of' like it's something childish..?"

"Well, it is." Inuyasha shrugged. "I get that you want to protect and help people as much as possible, but... if you let your guard down every time someone you knew was in trouble, you'll be killed."

Manami flinched and swallowed thickly at that harsh fact.

"Yeah, but…" She slowed to a stop and sighed, Inuyasha stopping with her. "I... don't feel right, putting myself above others like that."

She still couldn't get Ed's words out of her mind…

"_All we can do is just guard Manami with our lives…"_

But... Inuyasha was right, it was no better the other way around, either.

"I understand what you're saying," Manami shook her head. "I need to be more careful and watch my own back, but... I just can't ignore someone else either. Especially a friend."

"..." Inuyasha raised a brow.

"..." Manami shrugged, letting out a nervous chuckle. "Too soon?"

The way he was looking at her told her that he _definitely _didn't consider her a friend.

"Worth a shot…" She sighed and put her hands on her hips. "The point is... I think it's something that can be balanced. A kind of... 'trusting someone enough to watch your back while you watch theirs' thing, y'know?"

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha turned his head. "I'm just saying that you still want to watch your own back. You never know when you'll be all you got—"

Suddenly, four shadow heartless appeared around them, one cluster heartless accompanying them. Inuyasha reached to a wound of his to stain his claws with his own blood.

"Blades of BLOOD!"

He threw a bunch of crimson blades across the area, doing damage to all of the heartless and forcing them to spread out. Manami looked up to see multiple stalactites hanging above them.

She then got an idea…

Manami threw her Keyblade like a boomerang at them. They broke off as she anticipated, and four of them fell down. While one missed the heartless, the others hit their targets; the cluster heartless, as well as two shadow heartless. One of the shadows was impaled on contact and instantly destroyed.

"Heh, not bad!" Inuyasha nodded in approval before lunging at the three shadow heartless, shredding through them with his claws.

Manami looked up to see the cluster heartless rise from the floor, and casted Blizzard at it. Inuyasha was quick to take out the shadow heartless, then turned to Manami and the cluster heartless.

"Alright, now that we got the annoying ones out of the way…"

But, before he could assist her, three centipede heartless suddenly manifested around him.

"?! You gotta be kidding me!"

One centipede bit its tail and rolled at him like a wheel, and he jumped out of the way before slashing it in two with his claws.

Manami was too busy dealing with the cluster heartless that had recovered after her blizzard attack to notice that one of the centipede heartless was rolling towards her, and it knocked into her side.

"GAH!" She fell down, raising her Keyblade to block the pinsirs that were about to clamp down on her.

"Manami!" Inuyasha called, turning to run over and assist her, but he stopped one he noticed that the cluster heartless was doing something… weird…

It looked like it was using its snake and serpent heads to coil around its own body. Inuyasha attempted to slash it, but his claws bounced right off, causing him to stagger backwards.

It took a moment for Inuyasha to realize, but…

"Damn, it's padding itself!"

He looked back to Manami, who had since gotten up and blasted a centipete with a fireball and killing it. She then turned her attention to the last centipede heartless and slashed it in two. She ran over to join Inuyasha, and they both looked to see the cluster heartless, who was releasing its coil around itself.

"Guess it can only guard itself for so long…" Inuyasha looked to Manami, noticing that she looked hurt. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah…" Manami got into a battle stance, ignoring her legs that were starting to shake.

"Good," Inuyasha still knew that this needed to end, soon. "I'll distract it while you knock down another one of those ceiling spikes, or use one of your spells."

"Right." Manami nodded, getting in a battle-ready stance.

"HEY, UGLY!" Inuyasha yelled to the heartless, running towards it before swerving to the side and getting it to follow him. Manami once again threw her Keyblade like a boomerang, knocking down another stalactite to impale the cluster heartless and reveal its core.

"!" While it was exposed, she casted Blizzard in order to freeze it, allowing Inuyasha to attack the weak spot relentlessly. He ran over and shoved his hand inside to slash the inside with his claws, and finally destroying it.

Manami hunched over, panting harshly while Inuyasha flicked his wrist and then looked over at her.

"You're starting to get tuckered out." He pointed out.

"N-No..!" Manami immediately straightened up, trying to play it off that she was better than she actually was. "I'm fine..!"

"Yeah, right..." Inuyasha scoffed. "I know you're just a human, so I doubt you do this kinda thing for long. Give me that map."

Before Manami could respond, Inuyasha yanked the map that Manami had sticking out of her pocket and looked it over for a moment.

"... I knew it." He tucked the map in his breast pocket. "Come on, get on my back."

"Huh?" Manami blinked, watching as Inuyasha knelt down on one knee, looking back at her expectantly.

"N-No, that's okay!" She squeaked. "I can walk! Look!"

Manami extended her arm and twirled the Keyblade in her hand. "I'm feeling better already! Just needed a—"

BONK! She went to hold the Keyblade over her shoulder, and hit her head instead. Thankfully, she hit herself with the blunt side of the Keyblade, and not the alternative...

"Ow!" She whined as she hunched over and held the sore spot on her head. "Ow, ow, ow…"

"..." Inuyasha sighed heavily. "I'm not gonna have you falling behind." He then went to grab her and hoist her up on his back.

"A-Ah! Wait, this isn't—"

"Just shut up and hold on!"

Inuyasha started to take off running, and Manami was quick to grip his shoulder with her free hand so that she didn't fall off his back. After running for a bit, Inuyasha slowed to a walk as they entered what looked like… a hidden underground spring?

With a grunt, Inuyahsa went to pull Manami off his back by the back of her belt, then reached to hold her over the water... and drop her in.

"EEK!"

SPLASH!

"GAH!" Manami emerged from the water, coughing as Inuyasha squatted down to meet her at eye level.

"Hey!" Manami barked. "Think you could've not dropped me in like that?!"

"Feel better?" Inuyasha asked instead.

"..." Now that she thought about it...

"Yeah…" Her eyes widened in surprise, and she looked down at herself before looking all around.

"What... is this place?"

"Kaede did say miners were in these caves, before they got chased out by the heartless." Inuyasha explained. "Guess they found this spring, and used it whenever they got tired or sore, so they could get back to work faster."

Manami opened her mouth to reply, but she heard something behind her. They both looked out to the spring to see something emerging…

"What..?" Manami got nervous, gripping her Keyblade tightly in her hand.

Whatever it was, it was big… it suddenly splashed the two of them, dousing them in water.

"!" Manami wiped the water out of her face and looked up at the creature in front of them. Was it a heartless? No… It looked like… a big, pink balloon?

"I AM THE MASTER OF THESE SPRINGS! LEAVE NOW OR ENDURE MY WRA—"

The voice stopped, as the balloon looked down at the two of them with its big eyes.

Inuyasha growled, his eyebrow twitching in annoyance. He suddenly shook himself as a dog would, shedding his water droplets everywhere, including on Manami.

"Oh, come on..!" Manami whined, weakly attempting to shield herself by holding her free hand up before wiping at her face again.

"Fancy seeing you here, SHIPPO…"

"Huh?" Manami blinked, turning to look back at the pink balloon. "Who now?"

The pink balloon suddenly poofed into a small cloud of smoke, revealing a small child. He had little fox feet and a fox tail, wearing a little kimono and a greenish ribbon in his hair.

Manami's eyes widened in surprise.

"INUYASHA!" The fox boy cried. "Wait... how do I know it's the real you? And who's that girl? ... DON'T TELL ME YOU'RE TWO-TIMING KAGOME WITH HER!"

"Huh?!" Manami squeaked.

Inuyasha reached for the boy so that he could hold him down punch him over the head a couple times.

"OW! OW! OW! What was that for?!"

"One, for splashing me... two, for making assumptions... and three, I just had to be sure." Inuyasha muttered, letting the boy out of his grip.

"Well, at least now I know it's the real you… still, who's this? Is she someone from Kagome's time?" The one known as Shippo looked up to Manami.

He started to feel uncomfortable at the way she was looking at him… she had a goofy smile, as if she were… admiring him?

_"He's so cute!"_

"Er... not exactly." Inuyasha answered awkwardly.

The fox boy blinked at Manami, but made an attempt to introduce himself anyway. "I'm Shippo! Um... I don't think I've seen you around before…"

"She's Manami." Inuyasha said, since Manami seemed to be rendered speechless. "Long story short, she's here to help us out with these weird creatures that have been spawning lately. So tell me, how did you escape? Didn't you get captured with the others?"

"We did!" Shippo looked back to Inuyasha. "But Miroku and Sango were able to fight back long enough for me and Kilala to escape, so we could go find you and Kagome. But... we got chased down by Kagura and those things, and had to hide here…"

"So Sango and Miroku are okay…" Inuyasha seemed relieved. "What about Kagome?"

"Huh?" Shippo blinked. "Kagome wasn't there when I escaped... wait, don't tell me you lost her! Did you just think you could replace her with another gir—"

Inuyasha shut him up by knocking him over the head once more.

"Um…" Manami finally spoke up. "You said you escaped with someone?"

"Yeah, where's Kilala?" Inuyasha added.

"I don't know!" Shippo cried. "We got separated, and then I got lost. I tried to plant mushrooms to leave a trail, but those creatures kept plucking them out of the ground and chased me around. I found this spring so I could hide."

"You poor thing…"

Inuyasha crossed his arms and rolled his eyes at Manami, who was being disgustingly sympathetic towards Shippo

"I'm gonna be sick…"

"Well, what do we do now?" Shippo asked.

"We find Kilala, find the others, and seal up the heartless." Inuyasha answered.

"Heartless?" Shippo tilted his head. "Oh, is that what they're called?"

"Yeah, that's what she's here to help us with." Inuyasha pointed his clawed thumb to Manami. "By the way, did you see a guy in armor or a shrimp yokai when you came here?"

Manami's eyes widened when Inuyasha asked that. That's right… maybe Shippo knew where Ed and Al were! She looked back to Shippo, smiling hopefully...

"Mm… no... I can't say that I did…" Shippo shook his head, and Manami's smile faded.

"Great…" Inuyasha sighed. "And if Kilala is in these tunnels, who knows where she could be…"

"Why don't you try making lots of noise?" Shippo suggested. "Maybe she'll hear you!"

"And risk alerting all the heartless?"

"Well what do _you_ suggest?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to answer, but was interrupted by the cave suddenly rumbling. The water around Manami rippled, as some rocks fell from the high ceiling above them.

"What was that?" Manami asked, going to crawl out of the water now.

"Looks like something is happening nearby." Inuyasha looked back to the entrance they came through.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Manami asked. "Let's check it out."


	13. Chapter 13

Manami, Inuyasha, and Shippo ran through the cave tunnels, led by the rumbling sounds that only got louder as they got nearer. They ran through an opening, stopping to see a battle ensuing. Though Manami couldn't see who was fighting the heartless...

But then, she heard familiar voices..!

"ALPHONSE, NOW!"

"Right, brother!"

They then saw a bunch of spikes emerge from the ground, taking out a few shadow heartless, while a lance was thrown and impaled a cluster heartless.

"ED! AL!"

"?!" The Elric brothers whipped around at the voice that called for them and saw Manami throwing her Keyblade like a boomerang at the heartless, creating an opening so that she and Inuyasha could join them.

"Manami!"

"You're okay!" She beamed at them. The relief almost brought tears to her eyes, but...

"No time for touching reunions!" Inuyasha had the room to pull out his Tessaiga, and he did so. He and Manami stood back to back with the Elric brothers while Shippo went to hide. There were three cluster heartless surrounding them on the battlefield.

"ADAMANT BARRAGE!" Inuyasha swung his sword and shot sharp crystal shards at the three cluster heartless, though two of them wrapped themselves in their living tentacle appendages and solidified, deflecting the shards.

Al followed up by swinging his lance like a baseball bat, knocking one cluster heartless into another. Ed slashed at the third cluster with his automail blade, cutting through the tentacles it used to try to counter attack.

Manami looked over to see three cluster heartless grouped together. She threw her Keyblade like a boomerang once again to separate them, but they quickly regrouped and continued their attack

She looked up to see more stalactites, and she casted thunder in order to knock them down. Two of the three clusters were hit by the falling rocks, and they were both pinned to the ground.

"Nice— WHOA!" Manami jumped when she noticed the third cluster heartless about to attack her, but suddenly…

"BLIZZARD!"

Manami felt an icy gust and looked over to see that Ed had casted ice magic to freeze the cluster heartless that was about to attack her.

"Need a hand?" Inuyasha jumped in next to Manami, and they both double-teamed on the frozen heartless, slashing it until its core was exposed, leaving itself open for both of them to stab their swords into its core and destroy it.

After they defeated it, Manami looked over to see one of the cluster heartless escaping its stalactite to float once more, with its core being exposed. Al suddenly threw his lance like a javelin directly into its core, destroying it instantly.

"One more!" Ed called, and everyone looked to the remaining cluster heartless, also recovering from a stalactite and floating.

But, before anyone could attack it, they noticed that it was… shedding?

"Ew…" Manami's face twisted in disgust.

"Watch it!" Inuyasha shoved her aside, stomping down on the insects that the heartless had shed, that were coming to attack Manami's feet.

The heartless's core was more exposed than ever, but with all these insects constantly attacking, the group found that they couldn't get anywhere near it!

Manami and Ed both tried casting fire, but found that the insects were replenishing faster than they were taking them out…

The group backed up until they were as close as they could get, their backs all touching as the insects surrounded them.

"Manami!" Al called, reaching his hand for her.

Just as Manami took his hand and Al threw her up in the air, the insects swarmed up Ed, Al, and Inuyasha's legs.

Manami understood when she got the above perspective of the heartless... she had to take out the cluster heartless now, or they were screwed.

"HA!" Manami thrusted the Keyblade downward as she fell, plunging it into the cluster heartless's core…

BOOM! The heartless exploded and dissipated, making the insects that had completely overtaken Inuyasha and the Elric brothers dissipate as well, thankfully before they could do too much damage.

"You guys okay?" Manami asked, breathlessly.

"Yeah." Ed answered.

"Thanks to you, Manami!" Al said, a smile in his tone.

"..." Manami suddenly lunged forward, pulling the Elric brothers together into a tight hug.

"Urk..!" Ed grunted uncomfortably.

"Whoa! Heh… good to see you're alright, too!" Al chuckled.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha sheathed his sword as he took a whiff to confirm that these two really were Manami's friends… but his eyes narrowed at the fact that he smelled something else.

"Is it safe to come out now?"

The familiar voice broke Inuyasha from his thoughts for a moment. "Yeah… these guys are with Manami."

"Who's that?" Ed blinked, looking for a source of the voice.

From behind Inuyasha emerged the small fox demon, Shippo.

"This is Shippo, a friend of Inuyasha's." Manami introduced him.

"Nice to meetcha!"

"I smell something else…" Inuyasha frowned. "I think Kilala is nearby."

"Really?!" Shippo asked, looking around excitedly. "But… I don't see her!"

"Kilala?" Al asked. "Oh, are you talking about this?"

Everyone looked over as Al opened his chest plate, revealing what looked like a cat, but with two tails.

"..." Manami held her own cheeks, as her eyes sparkled at the sight of the creature. Shippo noticed immediately that she had that same goofy smile that she did when he first met her.

_"SO CUTE!" _Manami could only let out a tiny squeal, as she was absolutely fawning over the cuteness that was Kilala as Ed approached Al's armor.

"I almost forgot…" He clapped his hands and healed her, and the two-tailed demon jumped out of Al's armor into Shippo's arms.

"KILALA!" Shippo hugged her tightly. "Thank goodness you're safe. I thought you were lost... or worse!"

"Wait a sec…" Inuyasha looked to the Elric brothers. "Didn't you two get captured?"

"Well…" Ed crossed his arms. "We did and we didn't…"

"You see…" Al started.

* * *

_"DANCE OF THE DRAGONS!"_

_"BACKLASH WAVE!"_

_What Manami didn't see when everything went white, was that Inuyasha's attack had actually cancelled out Kagura's attack. Not only that, but it also freed Ed and Al. While Inuyasha and Manami were nowhere to be found, she saw the Elric brothers._

_"Seize them!" She ordered her crow heartless, but… their bodies shattered once the crows grabbed them up in their giant talons._

_It was at this moment that they realized that these weren't the real Elric brothers, but dummies made out of the earth that they had transmuted before escaping._

_Kagura took to the skies to look for the Elric brothers, but they had skillfully avoided her and made their way to the caves._

* * *

"We remembered what that village priestess said about the mountain and the mines." Al explained. "We saw the resulting damage and figured you'd likely be inside."

"But we had the map…" Inuyasha raised a brow. "How did you—"

"We memorized it." Ed and Al answered in unison.

" …" The half-demon was rendered speechless for a moment.

"HOW?"

"Well, to be exact, we remembered the _important_ tunnels." Ed clarified.

"We also made our own cave markers so that we wouldn't get lost." Al added." And then we found Kilala, tired after fighting all those heartless on her own, so we came to her aid."

"... wow…" Manami blinked, just as impressed as Inuyasha was. "So… what now?"

But suddenly, Kilala jumped into Manami's arms, letting out a small "mew!"

Manami's eyes lit up like Christmas lights. "I've been blessed…"

"Al and I know the way out, but there's a problem." Ed went back on topic, looking over to Inuyasha. "That wind girl is obviously looking for us, so if we're going to fight this Naraku guy and save your friends, we're gonna have to think of a strategy."

"A strategy, huh?" Inuyasha thought for a moment. "... Heh, I think I got an idea…"

"It's not to rush ahead head first into battle and cause trouble for all of us, is it?" Ed asked.

"Of course not!" Inuyasha barked. "Do I look like I'm stupid enough to do the same thing again?"

"..." Ed said nothing, but the smug look on his face was enough.

"... I don't like you, you know that?" Inuyasha glared at him. "Shippo, get over here. We're gonna need your help."

* * *

Kagura was floating above the mountain range on her flying feather, assisted by the crow heartless in patrolling the mountainside. The crows informed her that something came out of the caves opening, and she she flew over to see for herself. She frowned at the sight of Inuyasha running on the mountain trail, carrying… the Keyblade Wielder!

"Get them!" She yelled, waving down the crow heartless to go after him before following.

"How careless of you…" She shook her head. "You won't get away again! DANCE OF BLADES!"

As her attack sliced off large chunks of rock from the mountain that rolled down like boulders, the crow heartless began to swoop in on Inuyasha and Manami.

Somehow, Inuyasha dodged the boulders, while Manami smacked away the crow heartless with her Keyblade.

Kagura gritted her teeth and readied another attack, but was suddenly struck by multiple lightning bolts.

"What?!" Kagura looked around to find where that spell came from, to see someone riding in on the two-tailed demon that belonged to the demon slayer…

But it wasn't the demon slayer… it was Manami!

"Impossible! How did she…" Kagura's eyes narrowed when she realized the truth.

"Damn that fox…" She hissed. "Heartless, attack!"

But before they could, the crow heartless were impaled from flying stone spikes coming from below. Kagura looked down to find the source of the spikes, seeing that the Elric brothers had made a giant cannon. They shot it once more, landing a direct hit on her, and blowing her out of the sky.

Just as Kagura was about to land flat on the ground, she managed to summon a small wind barrier that cushioned her fall. After a moment of writhing on the ground, she looked up to see that Inuyasha, the Elric brothers, and "Manami" had gathered around her.

Of course, the "Manami" that was with them looked like the real one, the only difference being that she had a fox tail. She suddenly poofed back to being Shippo's original form.

"Wow, that was a close one!"

"Good to know that I can make a believable replica of the Keyblade…" Ed rubbed his nose, smiling in satisfaction with himself.

Kilala descended down to the ground with the real Manami, and she climbed off of her to join the others in approaching Kagura.

"Give up, Kagura!" Inuyahsa demanded. "If you know what's good for you, you'll take us to Naraku, or else!"

"..." Suddenly, Kagura began to chuckle darkly.

"?!" Manami pointed the Keyblade at her, ready to attack.

"Do you really think you have me right where you want?" Kagura looked up at her. "Fools… Dance of the Dead!"

Suddenly, a bunch more crow heartless appeared above Kagura, but the group was more shocked to find a bunch of skeletons, sporting old and damaged samurai armor, starting to emerge from underground. Manami's eyes widened at the sight of what she could only see as zombies-heartless hybrids, radiating darkness…

"These heartless are fascinating creatures…" Kagura said. "If I can learn more about them, I'd be able to live without a heart of my own... and finally be free."

"What?!" Manami gasped.

"No! You don't want that!" Al argued.

"Kilala, take care of the heartless in the air." Inuyasha said. "Shippo, you keep out of the way!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

Everyone looked behind them to see that Shippo was already hiding behind a rock.

"Destroying all of you will be the first step I take to getting what I want…" Kagura snarled. "ATTACK!"

Before they could, Manami threw her keyblade like a boomerang, aimed to hit as many of the skeleton and crow heartless as possible. She managed to hit and stun the crows, while most of the skeleton heartless were smashed to bits.

"Doesn't look like they're very durable." Ed commented, going to clap his hands to cast thunder on the skeleton heartless, but they were unaffected.

"What?!" Ed gasped, as the skeleton heartless jumped at him... but luckily, Al got in between them!

"Knight Shield!"

Al opened his arms as the skeleton heartless wailed on him, but he didn't seem to be affected… was this a special power that Al was utilizing?

"Thanks, Al!" Ed thanked his brother, just as Al unleashed a burst of energy that knocked the skeleton heartless off of him. He remained kneeling, needing to cool down before moving again.

"I'm gonna clear a path! Get ready! WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha stepped in front of Al and slammed his sword down to the ground, releasing a wave that mowed down a whole row of skeleton heartless. It didn't take long for more to start emerging from the ground, and Manami realized that she had to take this opportunity to charge for Kagura to deal some damage!

"DANCE OF BLADES!" Kagura had noticed the opening and waved her fan to send a barrage of wind blades at Manami to slow her down, but she raised the Keyblade as she charged and slashed aside the wind blades relatively easily.

"What?!"

"HA!" Manami jumped in the air, coming down on her with a slash combo with the Keyblade, before casting fire.

"Gah!" Kagura groaned out in pain, then growled in anger. "Annoying child… I never thought I'd meet anyone as insufferable as that loathsome dog demon's friends!"

She suddenly created a burst of wind that blew Manami backwards. Luckily, Al was within range and reached to catch her.

"I gotcha!"

"Phew… thanks Al!"

As Al gently set her down, Ed approached them.

"Al, I got an idea! You with me?"

"Yeah!"

Manami watched as Ed and Al clapped their hands and touched the ground. Their combined power of alchemy summoned a series of stone spikes that smashed a bunch of the skeleton heartless to bits. Kagura was even almost hit, but she managed to take to the sky on her feather.

"Damn!" Inuyasha cursed, noticing that the body of a decapitated crow heartless had just fallen down nearby, and looked up to the sky to see that Kilala was fending off the crow heartless from above.

"Kilala, down here!"

As the two-tailed demon descended, more skeleton heartless began emerging from the ground.

"Manami! You're gonna have to take Kilala to fight Kagura!" Inuyasha looked to Manami.

"What about you?" Manami asked, as Kilala landed on the ground beside her.

"Don't worry, we'll join you when we get a chance." Ed assured her, slashing the head off a skeleton heartless.

"We'll hold off Kagura's forces down here! You go!" Al added.

"Okay…" Manami ignored her hesitation and jumped on Kilala's back. They took off into the sky, Manami almost losing her balance.

"Wh-Whoa!" She looked down for a moment to see the battle taking place under her, then looked up to see Kagura nearby, flying on her feather.

More crow heartless surrounded her, and swooped in to attack Kilala in hopes to knock Manami off. Kilala managed to keep them at bay with fiery slashes, but Kagura had also sent wind blades at them. While Kilala was hit by a few, Manami managed to deflect most of them away with her Keyblade.

Just as Kilala prepared a fire ball in her mouth, Manami took aim with her Keyblade. They both shot fireballs at the same time, both combining into one big fireball that wiped out all of the crow heartless upon impact.

"?!" Kagura summoned a wind barrier to protect herself, barely managing to deflect the fireball.

"What were you hoping to accomplish with that?!" She yelled. "My winds can blow out any flames you create and deflect all of your magic!"

But Manami could only smile. Kagura had done exactly what she wanted her to.

Since Kagura had focused all of her strength to deflect that fireball, she was no longer spawning anymore skeleton heartless down below, giving Inuyasha and the Elric brothers ample time to finish off the enemies.

Ed and Al then transmuted a series of platforms for Inuyasha to jump on to ascend higher and higher. With a huge leap, Inuyasha brought down a red Tessaiga onto Kagura's barrier, and busted it open like an egg.

"WHAT?! NO!" Kagura cried, as the attack even damaged the giant feather she sat on, sending her spinning towards the ground. Ed transmuted a cannon to shoot at her, managing to hit her in the air, but Kagura regained her balance to narrowly avoid Al's lance being thrown at her.

But she didn't see Manami coming!

Manami leapt off of Kilala's back and brought down the Keyblade onto her, knocking her off of her feather and sending her down to the ground with a loud CRASH!

"Is it over?" Ed panted, being joined by Al while Kilala grabbed Manami and Inuyasha out of the sky to bring them down.

"OVER?" Kagura slowly pushed herself to sit up. Her kimono was torn up, and she panted short, ragged breaths. "Don't insult me! These heartless... they've made me more powerful than before, and soon I'll live as one of them and choose my own destiny!"

"For the last time, you don't want that!" Al argued. "Please, we don't have to fight anymore!"

"You have no idea what a heartless is, do you?" Ed shook his head. "That kind of power is _not _worth it!"

"Makes no difference." Inuyasha spat, after Kilala landed and he and Manami safely stepped onto the ground. "Naraku and his incarnations... _none of them_ have hearts to begin with!"

Suddenly, a wall of whirling winds surrounded the group, only getting more intense as debris scattered about.

"I won't die here…" Kagura gritted her teeth. "NOT IN A PRISON OF MY OWN WIND... NOT AS LONG AS _HE_ HAS MY HEART!"

"..?" Manami's eyes widened a little. She couldn't help but feel bad...

"I will live freely, even if I have to leave my heart behind… DANCE OF THE DEAD!" Kagura summoned skeleton heartless once again, more now than there were before.

"What?!" Ed and Al gasped as Kagura once again ascended into the sky, now on the back of a crow heartless.

Among the skeleton heartless were a bunch of tornadoes, swirling sharp debris and bones within them.

"Fine… she's not gonna listen." Inuyasha sighed.

"It's time to end this!" Ed said.

"Right!" Al readied his lance.

"..." Manami couldn't help but hesitate. She couldn't stop thinking about what Kagura said.

Was it possible… that she didn't want to fight, either?

Manami shook away her thoughts and raised her Keyblade to cast thunder, hoping to take out as many skeletons as possible. This time, it seemed like they were more durable, and way less were destroyed this time than before. Ed followed up by trying to transmute stone spikes, but found himself sucked into a tornado and being cut up with the sharp debris inside.

"GAH!"

"Brother!" Al called for him, using his last remaining potion in hopes to provide help for his brother, but was also swarmed with skeleton heartless right after.

"Guys!" Manami called after them, but was unable to come to their aid due to being swamped by her own horde of skeleton heartless herself.

"Manami!" Inuyasha was getting attacked by skeleton heartless from all directions, but was slashing his way through to get to Manami.

"Inuyasha!"

"Let's end this!"

**[INITIATE TEAM MOVE!]**

Manami and Inuyasha jumped into the air, Manami aiming her Keyblade at the horde of skeleton heartless. She casted blizzard, shooting several ice shards that stabbed and froze the enemies, rendering them unable to evade Inuyasha's follow-up attack with the Adamant Barrage.

The two landed on the ground, standing back to back as they both attacked their enemies rapidly, striking their weapons so swiftly that it generated blades of wind that traveled even further to damage the enemies that were further away.

"Together!" Inuyasha yelled out, as both he and Manami raised their swords. As Inuyasha's blade began to glow, so did the Keyblade, as if its magic were instinctively reacting to the Tessaiga's will!

"WIND SCAAAAAAAR!"

Both Inuyasha and Manami slammed down their weapons at the same time, generating a powerful blast that spiraled around the both of them. Any remaining enemies, including Kagura, were sucked into the attack.

"GAAAAAAH!"

WHOOSH!

The smoke from the blast finally dispersed, and all that remained was Kagura… beated, bloody, and bruised.

"S-Stay away from me..!" She yelled, her voice even sounded weak.

"DANCE OF... ugh…"

Manami's eyes saddened at the sight of Kagura, as she couldn't even muster the energy to sit upright.

"Alright," Inuyasha stepped in front of Manami, towards Kagura. "Time to end you once and for all, Kagura!"

Before Manami could interject, Ed spoke up first.

"Hold on! You're not seriously going to kill her, are you?"

"She can't even fight back!" Al added.

"Are you serious?" Inuyasha glared back at them. "Do you have ANY idea how many times she's come after my life? After the life of my _friends?!_ She was born from Naraku, and just like him she's rotten to the core. My goal has been to finish off Naraku for good once and for all, and taking down his incarnations is the first step!"

While the three boys argued, Kagura murmured something under her breath, that only Manami heard.

"I just wanted... to be free... free from Naraku... even at the cost of my own heart. Maybe I'll get it... in the next life…"

"..." Manami's eyes narrowed, and she silently passed Inuyasha to approach Kagura.

Inuyasha was the first to notice, and Ed and Al stopped for follow his gaze as well.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

Manami didn't answer Inuyasha as she stopped in front of Kagura. She de-summoned her Keyblade, then went down to squat in front of her so that she could be at eye-level with her.

"Manami, get away!" Ed yelled.

"She could still be dangerous!" Al added.

"They're right you know…" Kagura said, glaring up to Manami. "What makes you think I won't attack you right now, when you're vulnerable?"

"..." Manami shrugged a little. "I just have a feeling, that's all."

"A feeling?" Kagura shook her head. "How pathetic… to be looked down by someone who doesn't understand a thing…"

"You're right... I don't understand." Manami nodded. "But I believe that... whatever's broken can be fixed."

Kagura's eyes widened a little, while Manami offered her a small smile.

"Listen… you can still turn this around. It's clear that this way of going about it isn't working, so… what do you have to lose by trying another way? I for one don't think you should have to sacrifice your heart _or_ your life for your freedom."

"Naraku created me strictly to serve him... and nothing more." Kagura shook her head. "Naraku has my heart in his palm... this is why I wish to become one of these creatures... if I can live without a heart, he cannot control me anymore."

"Or…" Manami leaned her head to the side. "If we defeat Naraku, you won't have anyone in control of you anymore... right?"

"..." Kagura turned her head, avoiding Manami's eyes. She had no desire to hold onto that false hope. She knew how Naraku operated…

"... the half-breed's friends are still alive." She finally said, still not looking at her.

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha's eyes went wide. "Where?!"

"On the top of this mountain... is a shrine that Naraku turned into his own personal fortress." Kagura explained. "Your friends have been thrown into the darkness and are going through a process of having their hearts removed. Their strong wills and spiritual powers have allowed them to last this long, but even then that can only prevent it for so long."

"..." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "Give me one good reason why I should believe you."

"I have none." Kagura said. "You can choose to believe me, or not."

"Damn you…" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.

"Seems legit to me." Ed spoke up. "Even if it's a trap we're walking into, at the end of the day we're still going to wherever this Naraku guy resides anyway… right?"

"Yup." Manami nodded to him, then looked back to Kagura. "I just… have one more question."

"..." Kagura didn't say anything, but once again looked up to meet her eyes.

"..." Manami's eyes trembled softly as she opened her mouth to ask, "Was there... another person with them? Someone you didn't recognize?"

"..." Suddenly, a blast of wind radiated from Kagura, blowing Manami back to land on her butt.

"Manami!"

"I'm fine..!" Manami looked up to see that Kagura had used the last of her magic to summon another giant feather, which she climbed upon and floated away into the sky.

"Damn... she got away..." Inuyasha growled.

"Considering how she left in a huff there... how much you wanna bet she knows something, but isn't telling us?" Ed crossed his arms.

"That means there's a chance that Kai could be here…" Al thought aloud.

Ed and Al looked to Manami, who didn't say a word as she got up and brushed herself off.

"..." Inuyasha couldn't help but sigh in frustration as he sheathed his sword. "This mercy of yours better not cost us later, Manami."

"..." Manami once again said nothing, as she stared up at the sky where Kagura had disappeared.

Finally, she sighed and turned to face them and force a smile.

"I guess we'll see…"


	14. Chapter 14

And so, Manami and the others made it out of the caves. They climbed up the side of the mountain, to discover a large fortress, surrounded by a giant wall.

"Might as well be a palace…" Ed commented.

But Manami's eyes narrowed at the sight of the thick, purple cloud that enveloped the area.

"I don't like that purple smog…" She said.

"We're definitely in the right place." Inuyasha replied. "I don't suppose you three can handle being surrounded in poison mist, can you?"

With the expressions Manami and Ed had, Inuyasha took that as a no.

"... or... in the very least, can you hold your breaths for long?"

"Um... I can," Al answered nervously. "But they can't... can _you_?"

"Tch, of course I can!" Inuyasha scoffed. "But... if Manami and Edward can't come with us…"

"But we need their help!" Shippo emerged from behind Manami's back, clinging to her shoulder. "What do we do, Inuyasha?"

"I'm thinkin'!" Inuyasha barked back at him in frustration.

"Hmmmm…"

After a moment, Ed began walking away, bending down to inspect something on the ground.

"Hey, Al! Come help me over here!"

"Okay!" Al walked over to him, and walked even further away from Manami and Inuyasha, leaving them there to blink in confusion.

"Um, Manami? What are your friends doing?" Shippo looked up to her.

"They _do_ know Naraku's fortress is that way, right?" Inuyasha asked, pointing his thumb behind him.

"I'm sure they do… but…" Manami raised an eyebrow when the Elric brothers turned and started to come back, carrying miscellaneous things in their hands.

Rocks, leaves, branches, tree sap, flowers, even mud…

"Oh!" Manami realized now what they were up to. They were going to transmute something!

But what?

"What's all that for?" She asked, watching them put their gathered materials into two neat piles on the ground.

"You gonna grind those up to make some kind of potion?" Shippo guessed, making Al chuckle softly.

"Not exactly…" He answered, as he reached under his loincloth to pull out a tuft of fabric. Seeing that it was red, Manami could only guess this was loose fabric that Ed had used to fix his red coat whenever it ripped.

"You'll see in just a second." Ed shot a glance to his brother, who nodded back at him before they both clapped their hands, hovering over the materials to transmute a pair of strange masks.

Manami raised a brow at the sight of these masks… they had big goggles, but the bottom protruded in such a way that they looked like bird beaks.

"What the hell are those things? Tengu masks?" Inuyasha asked. "I don't think we need disguises…"

"That's not what they're for!" Ed barked back at him.

"Here, Manami." Al said kindly, standing up and handing her the mask he transmuted.

"Oh, I get it! It's a gas mask!" Manami smiled up at Al as she took the mask from him, taking a moment to inspect it.

"Well, I gotta say I'm not used to this design…" She chuckled nervously.

"Well, they're not for show." Ed said, going to put his mask on. "We had to work with what we had… they're made to counter poison, so they should offer some kind of protection for us."

Al silently offered to help Manami put on the mask, who let him. He gently went to move her hair and pull the straps of the mask around the back of her head, being careful to not snag or pull her hair.

"We could make one for you too if you want, Inuyasha." He offered, finishing tying the straps of the mask around Manami's head.

"No thanks." Inuyasha shook his head. "Don't feel like going around looking like a Tengu. Besides, I said I don't need one, remember?"

"If you say so." Al shrugged. "How's it feel, Manami? Can you still see?"

Manami was looking around through the lenses of her goggles, hearing her own breathing within the mask. Though, she could smell pleasant aromas, due to the herbs and flowers that were transmuted into the mask.

"Fits good, and I can see good!" She said, her voice muffled behind the mask, as she gave Al a thumbs up. "Thanks for the help!"

"No problem…" Al replied, a smile in his tone.

" ..." Inuyasha turned his head. "You look ridiculous."

"_Well, if I gotta choose between looking ridiculous and dying from poison, I happily choose looking ridiculous." _Manami thought to herself.

"Alright, let's get going." Ed was the first to walk forward towards Naraku's fortress, everyone following after him.

* * *

Manami was told to wait behind for a moment to allow Ed to step inside the poison fog and make sure the masks were working properly, and she got the okay to follow them followed them inside. Thankfully, Ed and Al's craftsmanship was well worth their reputation, and the masks they transmuted successfully filtered the poison out of the air that she and Ed were breathing. Manami even found herself enjoying the floral scent of whatever flower was put inside.

"_Lavender..?"_ She wondered to herself.

But, before she could think any further, she flinched when the Keyblade suddenly appeared in her hand.

"Huh?!"

"What is it?!" Ed was the first to see that she had summoned the Keyblade and raised his automail blade, Al quickly catching on and following suit with his lance.

"Are we being attacked?!"

"No, no!" Manami waved her free hand. "False alarm!"

Though, she looked down at the Keyblade in her hand.

"Is it gonna light up again?" Inuyasha asked, which made the Elric brothers look at each other in confusion.

"Light up..?" They asked, simultaneously turning to look back at Manami questioningly.

"Y-Yeah," Manami chuckled at their blatant confusion. "I guess it can do that… but no, it's not that…"

It was like before, when she felt the tingly sensation running up her arm. Manami raised the Keyblade to point it towards Naraku's fortress, resulting in the strongest surge of that same sensation she had felt since arriving here.

"I think it's letting us know that we're at the right place."

"Of course we are!" Inuyasha spat, frustrated that the group had stopped walking because of this. "We know that Kagome and the others are inside, right?"

"... yes." Manami answered Inuyasha, but looked up to Ed and Al with eyes that said something only they could understand.

_The Keyhole is here._

"..." Ed and Al nodded firmly in silent understanding.

"But also, the Keyblade is telling me that… the source of the heartless is here, too." Manami said to Inuyasha, having chosen her words carefully.

"I knew it!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "Naraku would do _anything_ for more power…"

"Needless to say, saving our friends comes first." Ed said, stepping forward.

"Right," Al nodded. "We can take care of the heartless source after."

Manami smiled behind her mask. "Gotta say, isn't it convenient that we're killing two birds with one—"

Before Manami could finish her sentence, a group of heartless emerged from the ground. One cluster heartless, one crow heartless, and four centipede heartless all surrounded the group.

"... stone." Manami didn't even know why she bothered finishing her sentence; it was already null and void.

"What was that about 'convenience?'" Ed said in a teasing voice, his chuckle muffled by his mask.

"Looks like we found the welcoming party." Al said flatly.

As Inuyasha unsheathed his sword, Ed clapped his hands and smacked them on the ground. Stone spikes shot out of the ground the heartless stood on, dealing damage on all but the cluster heartless that was protected by its protective exterior.

"Adamant Barrage!" Inuyasha followed up with his own attack to deal damage to all the heartless, causing them all to scatter.

Al took the opportunity to charge at the cluster heartless and impale it with his lance, dealing damage, but then the crow heartless dive bombed from above and knocked itself into him.

"Al!" Manami threw her Keyblade like a boomerang to knock the crow away from the crow heartless, but then charged at Al as the Keyblade came back to her.

"Give me a boost!"

Al knelt down and cupped his hands together, throwing up Manami the instant her foot stepped down onto them, so that she could cast fire at the crow before it could fly away. The recoil blew her back, but Al was ready to catch her.

"Nice work, Manami!" Al complimented her as he caught her in his arms.

"Thanks!" Manami said with a smile in her tone, her eyes closing behind the goggles, and Al suddenly felt nervous.

Why?

"U-Uh, yeah!" He stammered shyly as he gently set her down on the ground, and they both turned their attention back to the battle.

Meanwhile, the centipedes had surrounded Ed and Inuyasha, though Inuyasha easily sliced one of them in half with his Tessaiga. Al ran over to assist them, and Manami was going to join them, but she stopped at the sight of something else. She saw the crow heartless on the ground, and the cluster heartless approaching it. Her eyes widened at the sight of the cluster heartless taking the crow… and absorbing it?!

She threw the Keyblade like a boomerang once again, but it was too late. The cluster heartless suddenly grew wings, and flapped its wings to shoot into the sky and dodge her Keyblade.

"Damn…" Manami caught the Keyblade when it returned to her and gritted her teeth.

"Manami, over here!"

"Huh?" Manami looked over to see Shippo on top of a rock nearby, and she ran over to him.

"SPINNING TOP!"

Suddenly, Shippo conjured up a giant spinning top toy, and he gestured towards it.

"Grab on and hold out your sword!"

"Right!" Manami nodded in understanding, holding on with one hand and holding out the Keyblade as the spinning top spun wildly around the battlefield. Manami successfully hit all of the heartless and made them flinch.

Finally, the top shrunk down and left Manami standing on her two, wobbly feet. She held her head, dizzy from that attack.

"Ugh…"

"Manami, look out!"

Manami snapped out of it when she heard Ed's warning, but felt a centipede heartless wrap around her leg, making her shiver.

She was not a fan of bugs... at least, she preferred to not touch them, and vice versa.

"GAH! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!" Manami hopped around in hopes to shake the centipede off, then resorted to smacking it with the Keyblade until it eventually fell off… though, she didn't stop there.

"NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!" She smacked down the Keyblade down on it repeatedly until it finally disintegrated.

"Phew…" She sighed in relief, looking over to see Inuyasha and the Elric brothers staring at her.

"... what?" She frowned at them, feeling her cheeks burning in embarrassment.

"Um… I don't mean to alarm you Manami but…" Al pointed at her. "There's... another hanging onto your back…"

"HUH?!" Manami looked over her shoulder, only seeing an antennae before she let out a shrill screech.

"GYAAAAAH! GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF ME NOW!"

"Pipe down!" Inuyasha reached to snag the centipede heartless off her back and shred it with his claws. "You and Kagome are the same! I don't get what the deal is with you girls and bugs!"

"How could you NOT?!" Manami snapped back at him.

"NOW'S NOT THE TIME!" Ed yelled in frustration, his eyes on the remaining winged cluster heartless.

Manami resisted the urge to retort and instead threw her Keyblade like a boomerang at the winged cluster, but it flapped its wings so hard that it created a gust of wind that was strong enough to deflect the sword. Ed tried transmuting a cannon to shoot at it, but the heartless merely flapped its wings again, deflecting the cannon ball and sending it back at them.

"WAH!" Thankfully, everyone managed to jump out of the way.

"Grrr…" Manami growled in frustration as she looked up at the winged cluster heartless in the sky.

"Come on already…" She raised her Keyblade and casted thunder, managing to strike it and knock it down. As it crashed down on the ground, everyone charged and ganged up on it, slashing away the insect shield and revealing the cluster's tendrils.

Suddenly, a tendril shot straight up at them, and Manami just barely leaned back to dodge it in time.

"Oh no you don't!" Manami aimed her Keyblade and casted ice, freezing its tendrils in place. Inuyasha slashed the frozen tendrils and shattered them, before Manami plunged the Keyblade into the core and destroyed it.

"Phew…" Manami swung the Keyblade to lean on her shoulder.

"Let's go." Inuyasha said. "We can't waste any more time!"

And so, Inuyasha turned back to the gates of the shrine, raising his Tessaiga to slash the door and destroy it instantly. They ran inside to find that it looked abandoned, but it still had a strange ominous aura.

"Alright Shippo. You and Kilala escaped from here, right?" Inuyasha asked the small fox demon. "Do you remember where you last saw Sango and Miroku?"

"Yeah! I even put down spores to leave a trail!" Shippo hopped off of Manami's shoulder as Kilala suddenly burst into flames, evolving to her bigger and more ferocious form.

"Hop on!"

"I'll follow up in the rear." Inuyasha told them. "I can keep up with Kilala."

"Brother, you go with Manami on Kilala." Al looked down to his older brother. "I'll stay with Inuyasha and back him up."

"Are you scared of riding Kilala?" Shippo asked, tilting his head curiously.

"N-No!" Al chuckled nervously. "I'm just, erm… quite heavy. I don't want to put any strain on her!"

"You better be able to keep up." Inuyasha crossed his arms.

"He will." Ed assured him, watching Manami get on Kilala before climbing on himself behind her.

"Alright. You three lead the way on Kilala, and we will guard the rear." Inuyasha announced the plan with a nod.

"Got it!" Manami nodded back to him, and Kilala took off.

**[Mission Prompt: ****While flying through the air, Kilala will be relying on Manami to cover her!**

**Kilala will claw at enemies who get close, but Manami can also use her Keyblade to deflect enemy projectiles back! She**** can also use magic to knock out enemies from a long distance. Hold the shoot button for Ed to charge her keyblade with additional magic!**

**As enemies are defeated, a meter will fill up. Once the meter is full, Manami can execute a special attack with Kilala!]**

Ed and Manami looked up to see a bunch of heartless floating in the air ahead of them; they consisted of things like centipedes, snakes, and eels.

Ed glanced back to see that it didn't look any better behind them, already seeing that Al and Inuyasha were occupied with heartless of their own.

"Manami, use fire magic!" He turned back to tell Manami. "I noticed that, around Kilala, fire is amplified— she has a natural affinity for it!"

"Right!" Manami nodded and took aim with her Keyblade, shooting a few fireballs that hit some of the heartless ahead… but not enough. They started to close in close enough that Kilala could slash at them with her claws, but it was causing her to slow down.

"Back off!" Manami slashed her Keyblade and destroyed a heartless that was attempting to bite Kilala's leg.

"Ed, I got an idea!" She said, aiming her Keyblade once again and beginning to charge another fire spell. "Mind giving me a boost?"

"You got it!" Ed clapped his hands and touched the Keyblade, charging it with his own fire magic and making it glow a bright orange. With Kilala's natural assistance, the blade itself began to emit small flames.

"Hold on tight!" Ed moved his hands to Manami's back and pushed back against Manami's recoil as she released the amplified fire spell with a loud BANG! It unleashed a widespread flame that damaged all of the enemies in front of them, knocking them back so that Kilala could rush past them.

As they passed through the remaining heat from Manami's fire spell, Manami let out an uncomfortable huff from within her mask.

"Whew… that's hot…" Manami felt herself begin to sweat, and looked back to Ed.

"How are you not suffocating with the mask _plus_ that coat, Ed?"

"The coat is actually a lot lighter than it looks. You'd be surprised!" Ed said with a laugh, making her chuckle too.

They looked back ahead to see more heartless approaching. This time, there were also crow heartless that tried to dive down and hit Kilala. Thankfully, Kilala managed to sway and swerve, but one of the crows flew head first toward Manami… but she was ready for him.

She gripped the handle of the Keyblade with both hands, raising the Keyblade over her shoulder like a baseball bat. She watched the diving crow heartless closely, moving to swing to make a dead-on impact with the crows beak. She smacked it away as hard as she could, sending it flying.

"Going… going…" Manami aimed the Keyblade to cast a fireball and hit it directly, burning it to a crisp.

"Gone!"

"Nice one, Manami!" Ed complimented her.

Manami looked back and noticed that Inuyasha and Al emerged from the smoke behind them, having defeated their swarm of heartless. Ed followed her glance and smiled behind his mask at the sight of his brother.

"How are you two holding up back there?" He called to Al.

"We're definitely holding them off. You just focus on the front!" Al replied.

"Hey, Shippo!" Inuyasha barked at Shippo, who was clinging onto Ed's hood for dear life. "How much longer?"

"W-We should be halfway there!"

"Only half?!" Ed asked incredulously. "How big is this place?!"

Before anyone could respond, more heartless appeared around them. This time, kappa heartless were riding on the backs of crow heartless. They all began throwing their discs of water, and Kilala got hit a few times. Manami raised her Keyblade and casted thunder, striking down on the kappa heartless that were preparing more water discs, shocking them as well as the crows. She and Kilala then shot fire balls, knocking the crows down and thus bringing the kappa down with them.

But in their place bounced up a group of Tanuki heartless. They attacked with a bunch of blade-like leaves, that Manami managed to knock and deflect back at them, but they rapidly poofed and teleported elsewhere. Manami groaned in frustration after shooting some fireballs that all missed because the tanuki heartless were just too fast. But she did notice that they did a hand sign whenever they were about to teleport...

She aimed her Keyblade and shot a fireball at a tanuki heartless that started to hold its hands up to do a sign, and landed a direct hit.

"Yes!"

Suddenly, Kilala started to emit a bright and fiery aura.

"What's going on?!" Ed asked.

**[INITATE SPECIAL SPECIAL ATTACK WITH KILALA!]**

Before Manami could respond, Kilala rocketed ahead, bursting through a group of Heatless and knocking them away like bowling pins. Shippo was already holding on to Ed's coat, but Ed had to grab onto Manami, who had to grab tightly around Kilala's neck, so that they all didn't go flying.

As Kilala soared ahead, she flames emitting from her body were burning projectiles before they even hit, and burned enemies to a crisp as she passed them.

After a moment, Kilala's aura faded, and she slowly came to a stop.

"I-Is everyone okay?" Manami looked back to Ed and Shippo, finding that they were both as out of breath as she was.

Right then, Al and Inuyasha caught up with them.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked. "I never saw Kilala do that before!"

"Whatever it was, it certainly helped us lose them!" Al looked to his brother and the Keyblade, noticing that they were quiet.

"You guys okay?" He asked them.

"Y-Yeah…" Manami smoothed over her hair that was frazzled by the burst of speed.

"I think my life flashed before my eyes…" Ed said quietly, making Manami chuckle nervously.

"You're not subtle at all, are you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

"I think we made it!" Shippo climbed up Ed's coat until he was on his shoulder, and they all looked up to see a giant door before them, along with small spores surrounding it.

"Yes, this is it!" Shippo exclaimed, recognizing his spores.

"Step aside," Inuyasha walked past them, rolling up his sleeves. "I got this."

He pushed the doors open with his bare hands and they all stepped inside.

"There's no miasma in here…" He noted aloud as the door shut behind them.

"Really?" Ed looked over to him.

"Yeah, that means we're close. You can probably ditch the masks now."

"Gladly!" Manami was already taking her mask off.

"W-Wait Manami! What if—"

Pop! Manami ripped the mask off and inhaled deeply before Al could finish. The Elric brothers watched frantically as she let out a satisfied exhale.

"Ahhh, fresh air..!"

"Geez, Manami!" Ed popped off his own mask. "Next time, let me take the test breath before you go ripping your mask off!"

"Yeah!" Al agreed. "That could've been really, really bad for you!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Manami rubbed the back of her head, smiling nervously.

"Hold on," Inuyasha lifted his nose to sniff. "I smell them…"

The group took this time to now look around the room they were in. The walls and ceiling looked like they were covered by a thick layer of black goo… but then they noticed something in the middle of the room… a few things, actually. Three of what appeared to be... dark cocoons..?

"!" Inuyasha's eyes widened at the sight. "Those cocoons…"

"That's them!" Shippo cried, making everyone gasp. "Miroku was balled up like that before Sango helped us escape!"

In an instant, Inuyasha rushed over and began clawing at the cocoons with his claws, shredding the dark sludge off of the bodies. Manami and Al were right behind him, yanking the goo off of the other two.

"Be careful!" Ed warned them. "They could have been turned into heartless already!"

"They could still need our help, brother!" Al said, not looking up from the body he was slowly getting the goo off of.

"It's a trap I'm willing to risk falling for!" Manami was doing the same, managing to reveal the face of who was buried under the heartless. It was a dark-haired man, and she pulled back more goo to see that he was wearing a purple robe and what looked like prayer beads around his right wrist.

Al was next to free the body from the dark sludge, finding a woman wearing a black, ninja-like outfit. He gently laid her on the floor, next to the man that Manami had saved.

"KAGOME!"

Manami and the Elric brothers looked up to see Inuyasha throwing aside the last of his project to reveal Kagome. She was unconscious, but Inuyasha still pulled her close to his chest in a tight embrace.

Manami smiled softly at him, then turned her attention back to the man that she saved, looking him over.

She didn't like the fact that they weren't waking up...

"... something's wrong." She said quietly.

"What kind of wrong?" Inuyasha frowned at her, but she didn't know how to respond… that only made him growl in frustration.

"Hey, shrimp demon! I asked what's wrong with them?!"

Ed gritted his teeth, a vein popping out of the side of his head. "I'm going to ignore that just this once… JUST! ONCE…"

He knew that the situation was dire, and actually managed to put his feelings aside to continue speaking, albeit with his teeth still clenched.

"Look, it's likely that they were trying to turn your friends into heartless by trying to remove their hearts... but it looks like your friends had a natural resistance to it. Their hearts are still intact."

"So what's the problem then?" Inuyasha's frown grew deeper. "Why aren't they awake?"

"It likely took a toll on them physically and mentally." Ed put a hand on his chin as he continued. "Plus, there could still be some left over darkness eating away at them. It's up to them to fight it off, but it's hard to tell if they have enough strength to do so."

"Can't we help them?" Inuyasha asked, and Ed shook his head.

"Come on! There has to be something!"

"Brother and I know magic, but…" Al trailed off.

"Not the kind of magic that can counter darkness within someone's heart." Ed finished for him.

"Hey!" Inuyasha looked to Manami. "What about you? That weapon of yours has to be able to do SOMETHING here! You guys said you deal with these kinds of things, right?"

"..." Manami bit her lip as she looked down to Inuyasha's unconscious friends. After a moment, she saw something… a flicker?

"..?" She squinted her eyes a little and focused her vision to look at their chests, realizing that she _was_ indeed seeing something! Little, black flames, wrapping around what looked like a glowing light, as if the dark flame was trying to engulf it.

"Manami? Are you okay?" Al asked.

"You guys see that?" Manami pointed. "Over their chests…"

"See what now?" Ed blinked.

In that moment, Manami realized that only she could see these flames, and deduced that it was because of the Keyblade.

"Well… " She aimed her Keyblade at Inuyasha's unconscious friends. "I think this weapon _can_ do something."

"?!" Inuyasha did not like the sight of Manami pointing her blade at Kagome.

"Wait, what are you—"

Just then, there was a flash of light that made everyone shield their eyes. In that moment, the dark flames were extinguished, like candle flames being blown out.

"What the heck did you just do?!" Inuyasha barked at her. "Watch where you're pointing that thing!"

But before Manami could respond, Inuyasha's friends began to stir. Everyone looked down at them, watching as they awoke, yet still looking dazed.

"K-Kagome..?" Inuyasha stammered, watching in disbelief.

"Inu… yasha?"

The man Manami saved looked up to see Shippo. "Sh-Shippo.."

"Kagome! Miroku! Sango!" Shippo cried happily. "You're all alive!"

"Kilala, you're safe..!" The woman smiled as Kilala, in her smaller form, jumped in her lap and rubbed lovingly against her.

"Manami…" Al looked to Manami. "What _was_ that?"

"Did you figure out another secret of the Keyblade?" Ed asked.

"I guess so…" Manami smiled at them.

"Where are we..?" The woman looked up to see Maami and the Elric brothers.

"Who... are these people?"

"Th-They're… agh..." Kagome tried to stand up, but failed to.

"Don't overdo it, Kagome…" Inuyasha warned her, at her side and ready to offer to help her.

"I'm alright…" She assured him with a small smile before looking back to her friends.

"These three… are friends of ours."

"And she's the one who saved you from the darkness!" Shippo pointed to Manami, smiling brightly.

"Hey, it's thanks to Kilala and I that we even got in this far!" Inuyasha pouted.

"She saved us? Is that so?" The man asked, standing up and picking up his staff. "Then let me introduce myself… I am the monk, Miroku. It's a pleasure to meet you, miss...?"

"Oh, Manami!" Manami quickly said. "And these two are Ed and Al." She introduced them, pointing to them respectively as she said their names.

"I'm Sango." The woman nodded. "I trust you've already met Kilala and Shippo."

"But more importantly…" The monk stepped forward and gently took both of Manami's hands in his.

"E-Eh?" Manami looked up at him, starting to feel uncomfortable.

"I apologize for the abrupt question, young maiden, but... would you do me the honor of bearing my children?"

"..." Manami took a moment to process that he really asked that question, and her face flushed a bright red.

"EXCUSE ME?!"

Ed and Al zoomed over to her in record speed to grab her and pull her away from him.

"WH-WHAT KIND OF A QUESTION IS THAT?!" Manami's shrieked, her face still as red as a tomato.

BASH! Sango suddenly hit Miroku over the head with what looked like a giant boomerang.

"Not even awake for a minute and you already pull that, lecher?!"

"I-I'm sure he's just... scatter-brained from waking from the darkness?" Al squeaked.

"And I'm sure he's just a creep." Ed spat.

"I apologize…" Miroku groaned, a small trail of blood dripping down the side of his head. "That was merely the last of the darkness leaving my heart...

"Yeah right," Shippo rolled his eyes. "Don't take it personally Manami, he asks that to every girl he meets."

"... WHY?!" Manami asked, appalled.

"It's a long story, actually…" Shippo sighed and crossed his arms.

"I can sum it up," Ed muttered under his breath. "He's disgusting."

Manami took a deep breath, quickly changing the subject.

"Do any of you happen to remember… if anyone else was captured with you?"

Ed and Al instantly knew why she asked that. She was wondering if Kai was here, too...

Miroku and Sango exchanged glances before looking back at her.

"We can't say for sure." Miroku answered. "As far as we know, it was just Sango and I. We didn't even know that Kagome got kidnapped, or how long it's even been."

"In the time we were unconscious, it's likely more people could have been kidnapped, but we wouldn't be able to tell you that." Sango explained.

"By the way... do you three have something against Naraku, as well?"

"Sort of." Inuyasha answered her. "They're here to deal with that infestation of creatures that invaded our land."

"What are these things anyway?" Miroku asked. "They're not like any demons we've faced."

"They're not demons, they're heartless." Ed clarified. "Basically they're exactly what they sound like, beings of pure darkness devoid of a heart."

"Heartless…" Miroku repeated the word, thinking to himself.

"Manami is here to seal them away once and for all!" Al explained "We just need to find where they're coming from, so she can seal them away."

"And we have high reason to believe that the source is somewhere in this fortress." Ed added.

"Of course…" Sango frowned. "Creatures of pure darkness devoid of a heart? That's definitely something Naraku would get involved with."

Suddenly, everyone felt vibrations under their feet.

"What was that?"

Another rumble…

"Something's coming!" Inuyasha stood up and readied his sword, Manami following suit.

BOOM!

Everyone flinched when the wall across the room from them was blasted open, and two massive heartless stomped into the room. Two giant Oni Heartless, one with red markings, and one with blue markings. Both carried large, spiked clubs; the club belonging to the blue Oni was covered with icy spikes, while the club for the red heartless was covered with glowing, hot red spikes.

Kagome, Miroku and Sango tried preparing themselves for battle, but looked weak… Sango even fell down to one knee when trying to hold up her giant boomerang.

"We're still… too weak to fight…" Kagome panted, barely managing to stand on her wobbly legs.

"Save your strength!" Inuyasha told her. "Hey, Shippo! Kilala! Get them somewhere safe!"

Sango and Miroku seemed hesitant as Shippo turned into his pink balloon shape and Kilala took her large form.

"They're right... let's leave this to them!" Kagome convinced them.

And with that, the three of them were carried away; Sango and Miroku on Kilala, and Kagome on Shippo.

"Alright, now that they're at a safe distance…" Inuyasha gripped his Tessaiga with both hands and turned his attention back to the Oni Heartless.

"We can go all out!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I'm finally back, woohoo! I don't know how often I'll be posting chapters, but I'm definitely getting back into the groove of writing, so I think that's a good sign! I wanted to shamelessly plug my DeviantArt account real quick, because I've been posting a LOT of art for this series that I think you guys would appreciate (especially if you're liking this series~). I even got character sheets for Manami and Kai! So go ahead to DeviantArt page (same username as here: Bizcooitz), and enjoy!

I'm also here to vague-announce that I'm working on a BIG project for this fanfiction. I want to keep it a surprise, but I will say that this project involves a LOT of drawing! I'll be sure to let you know when it's finished, but as of this chapter I think I'm roughly 45-50% done... soooo yeah, we still got a while.

Anyway, I'm glad to be back, and of course thanks for reading! I hope you guys are enjoying so far!~


	15. Chapter 15

The two Oni heartless roared before going to attack at the same time, but everyone managed to jump out of the way. They split into two groups: Ed and Inuyasha going for the red Oni, while Manami and Al charged at the blue one.

Ed transmuted giant stone spikes under the red Oni's feet while Inuyasha jumped in the air to attack with a Wind Scar on its head, but the Oni was quick enough to raise its club and block the attack. Ed casted blizzard, shooting icy spikes at the Oni's feet and managing to freeze one foot in place… but it used its other foot to kick Ed across the area, and it brought down its club on Inuyasha, smashing him into the ground.

"Grrr…" The half demon rose from his crater, baring his fangs. "I'm not done yet!"

Meanwhile, Al stabbed his lance through the blue Oni's ankle, anchoring him down while Manami began running up its icy club, slashing away the ice spikes in her way as she made her way to its head. When she got in close range, Manami casted a fire ball directly in its face, making it roar and swing its club wildly.

"!" Just as the club was about to hit Manami, she raised the Keyblade with both hands. Despite that she was still knocked back, she took significantly less damage than she would have otherwise. She landed her feet against the cave wall and jumped back to land on the Oni's shoulder, while Al began rapidly thrusting his lance into the Oni's foot, like that of a rapier.

"ADAMANT BARRAGE!" Inuyasha showered the red Oni with his attack, who tried its best to block it with his club, but some of the shards stabbed through its body anyway.

In retaliation, the heartless breathed out a large stream of bright flames, and though it forced Ed and Inu Yasha back, it also hit the blue Oni in the process. The blue Oni roared out in pain, as its body starting to swell. Suddenly, ice spikes sprouted from all over its body, and shot out in random directions.

Manami managed to avoid the spikes since she was standing on the Oni, but everyone else had to predict where he spikes were going, and made the effort to dodge… but Al got hit and took a significant amount of damage.

At the same time, a spike hit the red Oni heartless and harmed it as well.

"Al!" Manami managed to slash the neck of the blue Oni before it tried reaching to grab her, but she managed to jump out of its way and cast fire in its face once again.

As she landed on the ground, the blue Oni once again stumbled back into the red Oni, and they both roared in pain once more.

Manami noticed a pattern...

"Keep knocking them into each other!" She yelled out.

"Right!" Ed clapped his hands, transmuting stone spikes at the blue Oni's feet, making it stumble. Meanwhile, Al joined Inuyasha in attacking the red Oni with their weapons, making it move closer to its twin.

They ended up backing into each other, once again hurting each other and yelling out in pain. But this time, their collision combined their elements and created a large cloud of steam.

"Good!" Manami cheered, but both Oni heartless became enraged from within the steam, blindy swinging their weapons to knock away all four of them.

"I'm not done yet…" Inuyasha was first to rise to stand.

"WIND SCAR!"

Inuyasha unleashed a Wind Scar to blow away the steam, revealing the two Oni heartless, now sporting burns and scars all over their bodies.

From the evaporating mist, rose Manami and Al.

**[INITIATE TAM MOVE WITH ALPHONSE!]**

"Let's go, Manami!"

Al clapped his hands and transmuted two steel clock-work horses, that both he and Manami got on to ride. Their metal hooves galloped across the battlefield in opposite directions before turning around and charging straight into each other, as if they were jousting.

As they rode into each other, they struck through the legs of both the Oni with their weapons, knocking them off balance and making them fall onto their backs.

Manami and Al then jumped high in the air to initiate the next phase of their attack, where they showered the Oni with a rain of duplicates of their weapons, dealing a bunch of damage.

"Time to end this!" Manami clashed her Keyblade against Al's lance, spinning them together until they created a tornado that sucked in the Oni together.

Not only did the Oni repeatedly bash into each other and damage each other, but Manami's and Al's weapons were also hitting them, impaling them from different directions within the vortex.

As Manami and Al landed on the ground, the Oni released another blast of steam… but this time, from their defeat.

From afar, Sango, Miroku, and Kagome all witnessed Inuyasha and Manami's group defeat the large demon monsters.

"Incredible!" Sango exclaimed "Their fighting styles, their attacks, they're so coordinated and powerful! They've only recently met Inuyasha, but they're able to fight side by side with him so well."

"I told you." Kagome smiled at Sango. "There's no way we'll fail if we have them on our side!"

"Yes, we should consider ourselves lucky that they came to our aid. Though with how powerful that girl is on the battlefield... I could only imagine that her children would also inherit such attribute—" Miroku was cut off when Sango landed a _rough_ punch on the back of his head.

"DO YOU EVER _NOT_ THINK ABOUT THAT KIND OF THING!?"

"I was merely making an astute observation about the passing of traits from parent to child. Nothing more and nothing less."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet."

Meanwhile, Manami and the others were catching their breaths as Shippo approached them, followed by Kagome, Sango, and Miroku.

"Great job, you guys!"

Manami turned and smiled at the sight of Shippo. "Thanks! You guys okay?"

"Yeah." Kagome nodded with a small smile

"I won't lie... we still might not be fit to fight by your side…" Sango said quietly.

"Agreed." Miroku nodded. "I'm afraid we'll only be able to provide limited assistance."

"Wait, I have an idea!" Al reached under his loincloth to pull out a bottle that Manami recognized.

It was the bottle of milk that Arakawa had given them!

"Maybe you three can have a drink of this stuff?" He inquired.

"Good idea, Al!" Manami nodded.

"You actually still have that gross stuff?" Ed's face twisted in disgust and he crossed his arms. "Shouldn't it be spoiled by now?"

"I kept it cold by freezing it with alchemy!" Al replied. "It should still be fresh."

"What is that stuff?" Kagome tilted her head, seeming unsure.

"It's milk that was given to us by a little cow person as thanks for saving her life." The suit of armor answered. "If she gave us such a gift, it must be special!"

"Or it can be disgusting." The older Elric muttered under his breath.

"Don't mind Ed…" Al chuckled nervously. "He just hates milk."

"Ah, I see." Miroku nodded in understanding. "Well, a child like him will eventually learn the importance of healthy food and drink."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PINT-SIZED DIAPER-WEARING BABY, YOU LOUSY LECHER!?" Ed roared. "I'm no kid! I'm 15!"

"M-My mistake," Miroku smiled nervously. "I guess your height is less to do with age and more malnutrition... that, or you could be related to a shrimp demon I suppose?"

Inuyasha couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "See? I'm not the only one who thought that."

Ed clenched his jaw, his eyebrow twitching in anger.

"Just drink the stupid milk already, so we can be done with it!"

"Well... okay…" Kagome was the first to take the bottle from Al, putting it to her lips and taking a small swig.

She suddenly felt… better! It was almost like having a caffeinated beverage, but also with healing effects.

"..?" Her eyes widened a little, and she looked down to the bottle in her hands. "What the… what kind of milk _is_ this..?"

"Is something wrong?" Miroku asked.

"No!" Kagome smiled at him, then went to hand the bottle to Sango. "I feel great, actually. Like... _really_ great!"

Sango was next to take a swig from the milk bottle. Her eyes lit up once she felt the healing effects as well.

"My strength... it's returning! No... I feel _stronger_ now, actually!"

She handed it to Miroku, who took a sip before handing the now half-empty bottle back to Al.

"Wow! This is quite the drink!" Miroku said happily. "In an instant, I feel invigorated! This is from no ordinary cow... perhaps it was a cow demon with special milk?"

"Says here that it has healing effects... and while it boosts endurance, the effects are only temporary." Al said, reading over the label on the bottle. "But while you have this power, it'll be easier for you to help us find the keyhole!"

"Hold on…" Sango's brows furrowed, that word triggering something in her brain. "Keyhole… I think when I was brought here, I saw glimpses of a strange portal... but only briefly. It's likely in the courtyard behind the shrine."

"Alright," Inuyasha nodded. "We'll head there next. Manami, Ed, Al?"

Manami and the Elric brothers met eyes with Inuyasha.

"If we end up fighting Naraku, which it's likely that we are… you best watch each other's backs." He told them. "He's a coward, and he'll do whatever it takes to win. Think you guys can handle that?"

"I think so…" Manami nodded, looking over at Ed and Al for their answers.

"You bet!" Ed gave Inuyasha a thumbs up with his automail arm.

"You can count on us!" Al nodded in agreement.

Manami gave them a nod before looking back to Inuyasha. "We can handle it!"

Inuyasha looked over the trio for a moment, and Manami couldn't help but think that Inuyasha looked like he wanted to say something…

"Alright," He averted his eyes. "You should put those Tengu masks back on. Naraku practically bathes in miasma."

While Inuyasha told them that, Sango was already distributing masks to Miroku and Kagome, as well as herself.

The group then took off, travelling through the shrine and eventually finding a hallway. At the end of this hallway stood a pair of massive doors, that they assumed led outside to the courtyard.

They were getting close. Manami could feel the Keyblade resonating in her hand, sending tingles up her arm. They were stronger now than ever before!

With the twitch of his ears, Inuyasha suddenly pulled out his sword.

"Something's coming!"

"From behind those doors?" Al asked, readying his lance.

"No!" Inuyasha whipped around. "Behind us!"

The group turned around to see that a ton of yokai-heartless making their way over... it was the biggest gathering of heartless they've seen yet!

"So many heartless!" Manami gasped. "Where did they all come from?!"

"Stand back, I'll deal with them!" Inuyasha was about to raise his sword, but...

"No, these are clearly meant to distract us!" Miroku stepped in front of him and readied his staff. "Inuyasha, take everyone and go directly to the Keyhole. I'll deal with these heartless!"

"I'm staying by your side." Sango stepped to his side. "I can't risk that Naraku's poisonous insects are mixed in with all these creatures."

"Same here!" Kagome also stepped forward, gripping her bow tightly in her hands.

"Are you stupid?!" Inuyasha barked at them. "After all we went through to save you guys, you're really going to just separate from us again?!"

"We were captured off guard last time." Sango reached behind her to take hold of her giant boomerang. "Now that we know what we're dealing with, we'll likely be able to fight them off."

"Besides, if we don't, they'll certainly assist Naraku and get in the way of Manami sealing them away for good." Miroku added.

"Are you guys nuts?!" Shippo shrieked. "Gah, should I go fight Naraku, or fight these heartless... Naraku or heartless…"

Kilala stood next to Sango and emerged into her bigger, fiery form, letting out a roar.

"I guess I have no choice…" Shippo stepped forward, next to Kagome. "I'll fight here, too!"

"Are you sure..?" Manami asked, hesitant.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine!" Kagome assured her. "We saw how you guys handled those big heartless, so I know you can handle Naraku!"

"Now go!" Miroku told them.

Both Inuyasha and Manami were hesitant, but they didn't have time to argue.

"Fine…" Inuyasha finally gave a firm nod. "Just be careful, Kagome. We'll defeat Naraku, I swear. COME ON!"

And with that, Inuyasha ran with Manami and the Elric brothers toward the giant doors.

"The sooner we take down Naraku, the sooner everyone's fight with the heartless ends, too!" Manami said.

"My thoughts exactly. GRAH!" Inuyasha raised his sword to slash the doors open, and the four of them ran into the courtyard.

As expected, there was a thick layer of miasma that made Inuyasha's face twist in disgust. He lifted his sleeve to cover his nose as he looked around, though it was hard to see.

"Ugh, this place reeks... but that means Naraku's close by. He'd never leave something like this unguarded. Everyone, be on your guard!"

Manami squinted her eyes behind her mask goggles as she tried to find a trace of the Keyhole. The Keyblade in her hand was practically sending shocks up her arm at this point.

The Keyhole was definitely here… but the miasma was so thick, she couldn't see it.

"So... you all made it, as expected."

Everyone flinched when they heard a dark and ominous voice speak. Inuyasha recognized it instantly.

"I admit, I am very intrigued by the power you wield, Manami... but I'm afraid even I don't have the time to corrupt a light as pure as yours…"

They all looked up to finally find the source of the voice to see a man floating above them, his arms crossed. He looked down at them with strikingly red eyes, and his long black hair waved behind him. Surrounding him looked like not what Inuyasha expected to be poison insects, but wasp-like heartless.

"Is this him, Inuyasha?" Al asked, as they all readied their weapons.

"No mistaking it…" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "It's that bastard if I ever saw him…"

"Well, you apparently have the time to learn my name before introductions!" Manami said to Naraku, her eyes narrowing before she got into a battle stance. "Who filled you in?"

"It was a woman." Naraku answered. "I'm afraid I didn't get her name myself, but she did inform me about you... as well as this power…"

Inuyasha then noticed something strange about Naraku's body. Instead of just demons… it seemed like he had now absorbed a few heartless as well!

"Then you must know that if that Keyhole stays open, your world will be completely consumed by heartless," Ed yelled up at him. "And everything you know will be destroyed!"

"I don't care what happens to the filth of this world. If it is consumed, so be it…" Naraku answered. "I'll likely be a part of the very darkness that does so anyway. Regardless, I'll get what I want in the end... everything I want will be mine, and everything I don't need will be disposed of."

"Hold it!" Manami yelled. "This woman... did she have someone with her? A boy with black hair?"

"Heh…" Naraku chuckled darkly as he descended to land in front of them. "Maybe she did... maybe she didn't. I'm not interested in your questions. What I'm more interested in is testing this new power."

Suddenly, four sharp-tipped tendrils emerged from Naraku's back. Manami gritted her teeth, feeling her blood start to boil… she gripped the Keyblade tightly in her hands and took off to charge at him, by herself.

"?!" Al gasped.

"Wait, Manami!" Inuyasha called.

Naraku smirked as Manami raised the Keyblade to strike, but he easily blocked it with one of his tendrils. Manami growled as she tried to push her Keyblade down harder against the tendril, in an attempt to overpower it.

"I'm going to stop you…" She snarled. "And then you're going to _talk!"_

"Really now?" Naraku sneered. "A _novice_ sword fighter such as yourself?"

Manami's eyes went wide and she let out an audible gasp. Did this woman tell him that she was new to fighting, after all?!

Naraku took advantage of her opening and slammed her with his other tendrils, sending her flying back to where Inuyasha and the Elric brothers. Luckily, she landed on her feet…

"Grrr… why you..!"

It was obvious that Manami was upset from Naraku's response to her question. She needed anything and everything that could lead her to finding Kai, and Naraku had every intention to manipulate that.

Inuyasha knew this tactic all too well.

"Manami, calm down! He's just trying to get into your head!" He told her. "He likely doesn't know anything, he's likely lying to make you do something stupid!"

"Oh, I know way more than you could ever imagine…" Naraku opened his arms in a welcoming fashion. "Go ahead, Keyblade Wielder. Slay me and seal up that Keyhole, only to lose valuable information forever…"

Manami flinched.

"... or, you can allow the portal to stay open... and maybe I'll give you the answers you seek…" Naraku offered, making Manami's eyes widen.

"What..?"

"Don't listen to him, Manami!" Ed yelled.

"Inuyasha's right! He's just trying to manipulate your heart!" Al protested.

"..." After a long moment of silence, Manami's tense shoulders sagged, and she slowly lowered the Keyblade. She kept her head low, her bangs covering her eyes now.

"... I'll do what you want... if you tell me where Kai is."

"MANAMI, WHAT THE HELL!?" Ed shrieked.

"Heh… in that case, prove yourself... slay your allies." Naraku demanded.

"..." Manami raised her head. "If that's what it takes…"

She then turned her back to Naraku to face Inuyasha and the Elric brothers, readying her Keyblade once more.

"Inuyasha… Ed… Al… I'm sorry..."

In the blink of an eye, Manami dashed through the group. The three boys suddenly fell to the floor, no longer moving.

Naraku almost couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he eventually exploded in laughter.

"Ahahahaha! Well, it didn't take very long for that light of yours to be corrupted, now did it?"

His eyes then fell on Inuyasha on the ground, lifeless.

"Inuyasha... DEAD! Killed at the hands of an ally... a most bitter end."


	16. Chapter 16

"Inuyasha... DEAD! Killed at the hands of an ally... a most bitter end." Naraku sneered. "My only regret is that I didn't get to destroy him with my own hand, but I have no problem with this outcome at all... the Keyblade is truly a magnificent weapon."

"..." Manami slowly turned to look back at Naraku. "Now tell me… who is this woman? Where is Kai? If you tell me… I'll leave this world, and leave you to do what you want with it!"

"As you wish." Naraku looked back to her. "The woman was accompanied by no one— aside from mere low-level heartless."

Manami's eyes widened. "W-Wait! That means…"

"Yes…" Naraku smirked devilishly. "Your search was for nothing... AS WAS THE SACRIFICE OF YOUR FRIENDS!"

Suddenly, one of Naraku's tendrils reached out and wrapped around Manami.

"GAH!" She cried out in pain. "Naraku! We had a deal!"

"That Keyblade... it only responds to your heart, right?" Naraku asked. "If I take your heart and make it a part of me... all of its powers will be mine. Your journey ends here, Manami…"

Just then, Naraku's tendrils were cut up, and he got impaled by a massive stone spike.

"! WHAT?!"

When he flinched, Naraku's tendril dropped Manami, and she was then caught in the arms of a familiar suit of armor.

Ed, Al, and Inuyasha... were alive!

When Manami had "attacked" them earlier, she made sure to give them a wink before doing so. It was then that they all were clued in on the act, and merely played along.

"BUT... HOW?!" Naraku gritted his teeth.

"Well…" Manami rubbed the back of her head. "I remembered Inuyasha telling us that you're a guy who does a lot of deceiving... so, I figured I'd try giving you a taste of your own medicine! Not bad for a 'novice,' right?"

"Either way, thanks for that tidbit of information about that woman surrounded by heartless." Ed said. "It's not much, but it'll definitely be interesting to start a report on!"

"YOU... YOU DECEITFUL LITTLE...!"

"WIND SCAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"

Inuyasha swung his sword and generated a powerful blast of demonic wind, landing a direct hit on Naraku.

"No... I'm more powerful than I could have ever imagined…" Naraku glared at the four of them. "I WON'T DIE AT THE HANDS OF CHILDREN!"

He then radiated with an intense darkness, the heartless on his body getting restless and moving about. He tore his upper half off the stone spike Ed created, and regenerated a new bottom half — this time, made from both heartless and demons alike.

"Manami... this time, I'll rip that still beating heart from your body, and throw your corpse into the darkness."

Manami didn't seem the least bit intimidated. "Unfortunately for you, I have a lot more tricks in store!"

"And so do we!" Al nodded.

"It's over, Naraku!"

**[MISSION PROMPT: DEFEAT NARAKU!]**

Naraku first attacked with his four tendrils, landing hits on Ed and Al, but Manami and Inuyasha managed to block the tendrils with their blades.

They went to counter attack, but Naraku suddenly vanished into a cloud of miasma. They looked around quickly to see Naraku reappearing and disappearing randomly around them, so fast that Manami was convinced that some of them were illusions.

What was worse, the wasp-like heartless also began to emerge from the surrounding clouds of miasma.

"Damn it! You weren't kidding, this guy is tricky!" Ed gritted his teeth. "I'll handle the bugs, the rest of you take on Naraku!"

He clapped his hands, casting thunder to take out as many of the insects as possible, but he only managed to take down about half of them.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha jumped at Naraku and raised his blade, but was bombarded by Naraku's tendrils before he could get close.

"Manami" Al called. "I have an idea!"

**[INITIATE ACTION COMMAND WITH ALPHONSE!]**

"Let's do it!"

Manami and Al stood back to back as they both began to spin their weapons as fast as they could, serving as fans to blow a lot of the miasma away, and exposing the battlefield— and Naraku, along with it!

"GOT YOU NOW!" Inuyasha raised his blade and attacked with a Wind Scar, but Naraku levitated higher in the air to avoid it.

Little did he know, Ed had transmuted a cannon, and shot it at him while he was in the air, landing a direct hit!

Meanwhile, the wasp heartless had swarmed around Al and Manami, but Al continued to spin his lance around to deflect them, giving Manami a chance to attack Naraku in the air while he was stunned.

She jumped up and slashed at Naraku, landing a few hits, but one of his tendrils wrapped around her and gripped tightly.

"Gah!" Manami took some damage, but it was short lived before Ed shot another cannon ball into Naraku's back, making him let go of her.

"How futile..!" Naraku recovered and suddenly sprouted four more tendrils, and all eight shot out in all different directions, hitting Manami as she was falling down.

"Manami!" Ed called for her, as she managed to land on her feet. She looked up to see that Naraku had disappeared.

"I'm okay!" She slashed away at a wasp heartless that was flying at her, before she and Ed both cast thunder to take out as many of the insects as possible.

Suddenly, Naraku emerged from the miasma behind Ed, and attacked him. His demonic tendrils slashed and bit him several times, before hitting him with a demonic energy blast point blank.

"GAH!"

"BROTHER!" Al rushed to his brother's side, but Naraku shot out a spider web that trapped him in place. Naraku smirked as he summoned more wasp heartless, directing them to the suit of armor.

"ADAMANT BARRAAAAAAAGE!" Inuyasha attacked, hoping to take out as many of the poison insects as possible... but by doing so, he left himself open to an energy blast from Naraku— straight to the chest.

"Inuyasha!" Manami called out to him, then glared up to Naraku as miasma once again began to cloud the area, allowing him to hide within it.

"Heheheh…" He chuckled darkly, now fully hidden. "I must admit, this new power of mine is much greater than I imagined. Perhaps a heart really is unnecessary after all... nothing more than weakness that should be ripped off and thrown behind."

Manami gripped her Keyblade tightly in both of her hands, looking and listening around for any kind of movement within the poison mist.

"That's not true at all!" She protested.

"Like you'd ever be able to let go of your heart. You can't even let go of your obsession with Kikyo... without that, nothing would drive you." Inuyasha grunted as he rose to stand, his hand over his stomach.

"So go ahead and give up your heart…" He spat. "Because in the end, you'll spend the rest of your miserable life fighting for nothing— but we'll always be fighting for something!"

"Hmph… words spoken by a fool who is too idealistic and naïve to see the bigger picture... how pathetic."

Ed finally recovered from Naraku's previous attack, grunting as he used a potion to heal himself. He then looked up to see his brother netted and being attacked by the wasp heartless.

"Don't worry Al, I'm coming!" He rushed over, raising his automail blade to slice open the web that trapped Al.

"Brother, I see him! Al suddenly jumped in the poison fog to attack Naraku, but was suddenly blown back by a barrier.

"Wh-What?!" He gasped.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with, do you?" Naraku smirked.

"BUT I DO!"

Al and Naraku looked up to see Inuyasha bringing down a red Tessaiga on Naraku's barrier and smashing it, making Naraku flinch.

Al and Inuyasha took this opportunity to wail on him with their large weapons, slicing and piercing his body. Al even got to avenge his brother by using his special "Rapid Thrust" attack at point blank range, drilling his lance into Naraku like a rapier.

Naraku recovered from the attack and summoned his extra tendrils once again, but everyone managed to deflect them with their weapons before Naraku disappeared into the miasma yet again.

Manami, the Elric brothers, and Inuyasha stood in a circle, all back to back as more wasp heartless began pouring in.

"Seriously, how many are there?!" Ed groaned.

"Consider them infinite." Inuyasha replied.

But suddenly, blasts of demonic energy were fired from different directions. The group was unable to predict where they were coming from, and all got pelted.

Suddenly, a blast fired and hit Manami point blank, and she went flying deeper into the fog, separating her from her friends.

"Manami!" She could hear Ed and Al call for her, but as she got up, she saw Inuyasha approaching her.

"You really need to be a lot more careful." He frowned at her. "Come on, let's stand back to back. He'll have less of a chance of taking us by surprise then!"

Manami was about to turn her back to him, but then noticed that something was off… she looked down to the Keyblade in her hand, that pointed away from Inuyasha.

She looked up to where it pointed, seeing three faint lights… and, when she looked back to Inuyasha, she only sensed something eerie, as if a void were emitting from him.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Inuyasha barked at her. "Naraku's gonna strike you down if you don't hurry up!"

"Am I... hallucinating?" Manami thought to herself. "Is the miasma getting through the mask, somehow..?"

She looked away toward the three flickering lights, and then back to Inuyasha… and now understood.

She walked in with three friends… if that's who those lights were, then...

Just as Manami raised her Keyblade to strike, Inuyasha also raised his, and the two blades clashed.

"You're a fake..!" Manami gritted her teeth.

The fake Inuyasha said nothing, but smiled devilishly as eight tendrils appeared from behind him and attacked her all at once.

"GAH!" Manami fell onto her back, her eyes going wide when she realized that she actually had the wind knocked out of her.

The fake Inuyasha stood over her as she rolled onto her side, gasping for air.

"You caught on quick…" He raised his blade. "But not quick enough!"

SLICE! Before he could bring his blade down onto Manami's head, his arm had been cut off by the real Tessaiga!

Manami managed to catch her breath, looking up to see the real Inuyasha standing in front of her, as the severed arm of the fake morphed into a cluster of demon-like heartless before disappearing.

"Such a shame…" The fake Inuyasha sighed, as his arm regenerated. "It would have been quite invigorating to once again slay someone you care about, while using your form…"

"LIKE I'D LET THAT HAPPEN AGAIN, NARAKU!" Inuyasha yelled, baring his fangs. He then looked behind him at Manami. "Manami, can you still fight?"

"Y-Yeah…" Manami grunted as she pushed herself to her knees, pulling out the bottle of milk she let Kagome and the others drink from earlier. She popped the cap and chugged the rest of the milk, feeling immediately invigorated.

"Thanks for the save." She said to Inuyasha, before gripping her Keyblade and getting back into a battle stance.

"Hmph…" The fake Inuyasha turned back into Naraku. "I was told that this Keyblade Wielder was going to be a threat to me... that the Keyblade itself had amazing powers… but I'm disappointed; it's nothing more than a children's toy…"

"What was that?!" Manami gritted her teeth, but Naraku seemed to ignore her.

"The power of the heartless, on the other hand—"

BOOM! Stone spikes suddenly emerged from the ground, stabbing into Naraku from both sides… but he didn't seem to be affected at all!

"..." Naraku merely shot a dirty look at the Elric brothers, who were the cause of the attack.

"As I was saying…"

They all watched in horror as Naraku tore his body parts off the stone spikes that Ed and Al had conjured, reforming his body rather quickly.

"That did nothing?!" Ed gasped.

"But... we had him!" Al cried.

"The power of the heartless is something very new…" Naraku smirked. "Just knowing that it can fester into power that can eclipse the entire world in darkness, makes it rival even the power of the sacred jewel."

Then, Naraku began to grow spider legs and turn into a large monstrous version of himself... his bottom half became that of a spider, with his back side covered in holes like a wasp nest. His arms were replaced with many living tendrils, and he doubled in size, now bearing the heartless emblem on his chest.

"No way…" Ed's eyes widened. "He was holding back this whole time?!"

"This is my evolution, Inuyasha…" Naraku boasted. "Do you really think that you and these inexperienced children have it in you to defeat me?"

"Heh," Inuyasha scoffed. "I think you just made yourself a bigger target! Come on guys, don't let him scare you! When he pulls something like this, it means he's getting desperate!"

Manami nodded before they all charged forward, attacking Naraku from different angles. While Naraku was distracted with the three boys slashing at him, she actually slid under him to cast fire at his underbelly!

Naraku suddenly expelled a large blast of miasma at her, and though she didn't breathe in the poison, it was so potent that it actually made her feel like she was being burned, forcing her to jump away from him.

Naraku then leapt into the air, releasing yet another massive swarm of wasp heartless that actually swooped in and carried off Inuyasha!

"Hey! Let go of me!"

While the insects dropped Inuyasha away from the battle, Ed and Al assaulted Naraku with projectiles; Al throwing his lance and Edward transmuting fire spells.

"Manami, the miasma!" The suit of armor called to Manami.

**[ACTIVATE ACTION COMMAND WITH ALPHONSE!]**

"You read my mind!" Manami said as they once again stood back to back, spinning their weapons to blow away the miasma until they spotted Inuyasha.

"He keeps trying to separate one of us from the others, so he can disguise himself as one of us and take us out!" Manami told Al.

"Got it!" He nodded." We have to finish this, and quick!"

Meanwhile, Ed casted thunder to zap the wasps out of the air, giving Inuyasha room to slice away at them with his blades of blood and iron reaver attacks, one after another, until they were all sliced and diced.

Naraku aimed an energy blast at Manami and Alphonse, but Inuyasha managed to get in front of them with his Tessaiga held out.

"BACKLASH WAVE!" He swung his blade, sending back Naraku's attack at him. Naraku, however, created a barrier around him to block it... only to then be stabbed from underneath by a stone spike.

"?!"

Ed had transmuted the stone spike while behind Inuyasha, and then Inuyasha slammed his Tessaiga against the barrier and shattered it, stunning Naraku.

As Inuyasha jumped back and landed next to Manami, she looked over to him.

"Can I borrow you for a minute?"

**[INITIATE TEAM ATTACK WITH INUYASHA!]**

Manami and Inuyasha jumped into the air, and Manami casted blizzard while Inuyasha did an Adamant Barrage.

"BLIZZARD!"

"ADAMANT BARRAGE!"

Naraku was showered in adamant and ice shards from Manami and Inuyasha's attacks. The two of them then began giving powerful swings of their weapons, sending a barrage of wind blades at Naraku. He tried to avoid them by taking to the air, but they were too fast, and he got pelted by the attacks.

"Alright!"

"Keep it up!"

Manami and Inuyasha raised their blades and struck down towards Naraku, the energy from both their weapons creating a spiraling tornado version of the Wind Scar. The energy enveloped Naraku and juggled him in midair, causing him a lot of damage!

After a moment, Naraku recovered and put up a large barrier around himself, before creating a massive spider web on the battle field in an attempt to entrap everyone. Everyone went to attack the web at the same time, breaking it apart, but there were still remains of sticky web around them that they needed to be careful not to step in.

Naraku remained in the air, showering both heartless wasps and energy blasts on Manami's group before disappearing in a cloud of miasma. Ed and Al were quick to transmute a large wall to try to block it, but it didn't take long for the wall to already start breaking apart.

Suddenly, Naraku came down onto the group like a meteor, smashing into them and unleashing another wave of wasp heartless that did further damage.

Ed was knocked out, while everyone else was low on health. Manami looked down to notice that her mask was torn open! Thankfully, the miasma wasn't close enough for her to breathe in, since she and Al blew it away earlier... but it was quickly returning.

Al threw his lance like a javelin straight at Naraku's chest, impaling him, but Naraku's demonic tendrils attacked him, doing damage to his armored body. Inuyasha jumped in to slice the tendrils away and save Al, then turned to slice at Naraku's head with his blade.

But as soon as he turned to look at him, Kagome was in Naraku's place, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Inuyasha, STOP!"

"I'M NOT FALLING FOR IT! WIND SCAAAAARRR!" Inuyasha successfully landed a Wind Scar at point blank range, but Naraku managed to endure it.

As they regrouped, Al ran to his unconscious brother's side while Manami and Inuyasha stood with their swords ready, though Manami's eyes were darting around to watch the quickly approaching miasma...

"BROTHER!" Al quickly determined that Ed was fine… just knocked out.

"This isn't good…" Manami said nervously, watching the miasma start to close in around her. She glanced over to see that Al's body was too dented and busted to help her in fanning away the miasma again.

"Manami, I have an idea, but you'll have to trust me!" Al said to her.

Manami nodded, going to take a gasp of clean air to hold in her lungs, right before the miasma made it to them.

Now this was time sensitive. They needed to end this, now.

Al quickly clapped his hands and transmuted a stone pillar that rose from under Manami's feet, launching her high into the air and above the miasma cloud. While she heard Inuyasha fighting Naraku below her, Manami looked up and saw it just ahead…

The Keyhole!

As Manami began to fall back down, she took aim with her Keyblade. She knew that she only had one shot to seal the Keyhole, and it was now!

Below her, Inuyasha got impaled by one of Naraku's tendrils, yelling out in pain as he was then slammed into the ground, and surrounded by wasp heartless.

"Farewell Inu Yasha... Your friends will be joining you shortly!"

"MANAMI!" Al yelled. "NOOOOOOWWWW!"

Manami closed her eyes as she felt something rise in her, and all the sound around her faded away as she focused on aiming this energy into the Keyblade to shoot…

PING!

She opened her eyes to see the beam of light shoot out the tip of the Keyblade, going towards the Keyhole…

CRASH!

A swarm of Heartless suddenly ascended, getting in the way of the beam of light, and immediately getting eradicated… but, through their sacrifice, they successfully blocked the beam from getting to the Keyhole.

"No..." Manami's eyes went wide with horror.

She... failed?


	17. Chapter 17

Manami fell headfirst back into the cloud of miasma, feeling all hope within her dissipate.

She had one shot to seal the Keyhole… and she failed…

"Oof!"

She suddenly landed on something soft, looking down to realize that she had landed… on Kilala! In front of her was Sango, readying her giant boomerang.

"Hiraikotsu!" The demon slayer threw her weapon, taking out a massive wave of the wasp heartless.

As Manami adjusted herself to sit upright on Kilala, she looked up to see more wasp heartless coming for them, but suddenly…

SHING! They were all sniped out by a glowing arrow. Manami looked to where the arrow had come from, and saw Kagome, accompanied by Miroku and Shippo. They were standing atop the roof of Naraku's castle-like shrine, above the cloud of miasma that Naraku had created!

Manami couldn't help but notice that they looked weary and exhausted, even Sango looked a little beaten up. Kilala rose higher into the air, until the Keyhole once again came into view.

"That's what you're after, right Manami?" Sango asked.

"Yes!" Manami nodded.

"Go on, take Kilala and seal it!"

And with that, Sango jumped off of Kilala, throwing her giant boomerang to keep a swarm of wasp heartless away from Manami and Kilala.

Manami knew she had to hurry. It was obvious that they wouldn't last much longer, but Ed and Al were still down below, within the miasma.

They were all fighting to give Manami a second chance..!

As Kilala flew closer to the Keyhole, Manami readied her Keyblade. More heartless emerged in front of them, and Kilala threw her head back to ready a fireball.

_"This is it..!" _Manami thought to herself, going to jump off Kilala's back. As Kilala shot her fireball and took out the heartless, Manami aimed the Keyblade at the Keyhole.

_"Please..!" _

She took aim with her Keyblade, and once again shot another bright light. She held her breath as the beam traveled across the sky… and landed a direct hit on the Keyhole!

BOOM! A thunderous clicking sound shook the area as Manami began to fall, before the Keyhole expelled a bright light and blinded everyone.

When the light faded, Manami looked down to see that the miasma had begun to disappear, revealing Ed, Al, and Inuyasha… as well as Naraku, who seemed to be frozen in place.

"GRAH!" Inuyasha raised his Tessaiga and slashed Naraku's tendrils clean off, and raised his sword for the final blow.

As Manami fell down towards them, she also readied her Keyblade, preparing a simultaneous final blow with Inuyasha.

At the same time, the Tessaiga plunged into Naraku's chest, while Manami came down on Naraku, stabbing the Keyblade into the top of his head.

"..." Naraku's eyes rolled to the back of his head. "... I had a feeling... that trusting that woman... would lead to my death…"

And then… he smiled.

"Good thing... I didn't trust her…"

"! Manami, get back!"

Both Manami and Inuyasha retracted their swords and jumped back just as Naraku expelled a burst of darkness, but then eroded and faded away.

All that was left of him… was a tiny, wooden puppet.

"..." Manami heaved a sigh of relief and let herself crumple to her knees.

That was close...

"Manami, you did it!" Al approached her and offered a hand to her.

"Y-Yeah…" Manami chuckled nervously and took his hand, and he helped her stand up.

They looked over to see Shippo in his pink balloon form, floating Miroku and Kagome to the scene, while Kilala flew over carrying Sango.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, running up to Inuyasha and looking over him worriedly. He was holding his stomach with a blood-covered hand.

"Don't worry, I'm fine…" Inuyasha assured her. "I've shrugged off worse…"

But then everyone's eyes fell on the wooden puppet on the ground.

"Oh no…" Kagome's frowned. "It was another puppet…"

"A puppet?" Ed raised a brow.

"Yeah," Inuyasha answered. "Like I said, Naraku is a coward. This is just one of his tricks… chances are, he'd never forfeit his own heart."

"But... why?" Kagome asked. "What about all that power that could come with it?"

Inuyasha didn't respond right away, frowning down at the puppet. "... I think even he knows that his desire would vanish... and his desire is all he has." He then lifted his head to meet Kagome's eyes.

"Without it, he has nothing to fight for."

"I guess I get it…" Kagome nodded. "Can't put heart into what you do if you don't have a heart to begin with."

"Still, it's not like our efforts were for nothing." Sango looked over to Manami, everyone else following suit. "Without that Keyhole, Naraku's dark energy is sure to be weakened."

"Yeah…" Kagome smiled softly. "Thank you, Manami…"

"Yeah," Inuyasha also looked at her… and smiled.

"You did good."

"Ah..." Manami smiled nervously, feeling a twinge of guilt. "It's really thanks to you… for getting me that second chance."

"It's the least we could do!" Shippo chimed in. "You saved us at the last minute back inside the shrine, too!"

"... huh?" Manami and Inuyasha looked back to Shippo, tilting their heads in confusion.

"The wave of heartless was almost never ending, until there was a powerful blast of wind from down the hall that twisted and mangled the heartless." Miroku explained.

"Oh…" Manami rubbed the back of her head. "Th-That wasn't me…"

"Oh?" Sango blinked, then looked to Miroku. "Wait… a blast of wind… could it have been..?"

"Kagura..?" Miroku looked back to meet Sango's glance.

"Wait... Kagura…" Al thought aloud. "Wasn't that…"

"... heh…" Manami couldn't help but give Inuyasha, the one who scolded her for sparing Kagura earlier, a smug-looking smirk.

"..." Inuyasha said nothing, and turned his head.

"Huh?" Kagome blinked. "What?"

"Manami spared Kagura after we fought her…" Ed said, shrugging and putting his hands on his hips. "I guess, in her own way, she returned the favor."

"I just think you get more with honey than vinegar, is all…" Manami said with a grin.

* * *

And so, everyone left the battlefield and made their way back to the village. They all gathered at Kaede's home to tell her everything that happened... all except for Inuyasha, who remained outside.

"I see…" Kaede nodded in understanding. "If a mere puppet could be granted such powers from those creatures, imagine what kind of power they could give to someone far more powerful."

"I suppose we should consider ourselves lucky that Naraku himself wasn't willing to pay the price to add that power to his real body... otherwise we might not have survived." Miroku said.

"So he's still out there…" Ed sighed. "Well... all I can say is good luck taking him down."

"You have to go?" Kagome blinked.

"Yeah…" Al nodded to her. "Unfortunately, now that our job is finished here, we're gonna have to get going…"

"But why?" Shippo asked. "Come on, you can help us track down Naraku! He won't stand a chance if we're all together!"

"Sorry but... we have our own mission." Manami smiled apologetically.

"Your w—" Al quickly went to correct himself. "Land isn't the only place where the heartless have appeared. We have a responsibility to travel and make sure that the darkness they spawn from is sealed away."

"Right… we understand." Kagome nodded. "I won't lie though, while it would have been a little more crowded, I was kind of looking forward to having another girl to talk to!"

"Heh," Manami chuckled. "You're telling me…"

Ed crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Oh, _excuse us _for not being into painting our nails and braiding each other's hair."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Manami snapped at him. "_ You're _the one with their hair in a braid, wise guy!"

That comment made everyone laugh. Kilala went to jump in Manami's lap, nuzzling against her hand.

"I see that Kilala has become quite fond of you." Sango commented. "I suppose it makes sense... she does know a pure noble heart when she sees one."

That comment made Manami blush a little. Kilala looked up at Manami and let out a small "mew!"

"Perhaps it's because of the light in Manami's heart." Miroku pointed out. "Kilala was once the companion of a priestess who could purify even the most wicked demons after all, so she'd naturally have an affinity with someone like her."

"Well, I'm quite fond of you too, Kilala!" Manami giggled, going to pet the small, two-tailed demon.

"So cute... yet so ferocious... but still so _cute! _"

"In that case... I want you to have this." Sango reached inside her clothing and pulled out what looked like a small charm. It took a shape similar to Kilala's two tails.

"Even if you can't stay with us, perhaps you can at least summon Kilala when you can."

"Wait, _summon? _" Ed asked, incredulously. "Manami doesn't know how to do anything like that!"

"Well, who's to say she can't find out later on, right brother?" Al asked, a smile in his tone.

"No one else in my family could ever figure it out, but…" Sango placed the charm in Manami's hand. "But considering the mysterious powers of that blade of yours... perhaps you'd be able to make use of this eventually."

"And if you can't, well…" Kagome smiled brightly. "Hey, it's a nice little trinket to remember us by, right?"

"..." Manami looked up from the charm in her hand to smile up at them, feeling her eyes water a little.

"Y-Yeah… thank you so much… I promise to treasure it."

"Wait… where's Inuyasha?" Ed looked around.

"Oh, he jumped up in a tree when we were coming inside…" Al answered him.

"Yeah, he does that…" Kagome chuckled nervously. "He'll at least see you three off, I'm sure."

"Speaking of which…" Manami went to stand up. "I think we should be on our way…"

Manami and the Elric brothers bid farewell to Kaede, Sango, Miroku, and Shippo, before walking outside with Kagome. They looked up to see Inuyasha sitting up high on a branch in a nearby tree.

It was honestly the most relaxed Manami ever saw him look...

"Inuyasha! Come down here!" Kagome called. "Manami, Ed, and Al are leaving!"

Inuyasha's eyes opened, looking down at them before climbing out of the tree and jumping down, landing on his feet gracefully.

His eyes fell on Manami, and the Keyblade Wielder blinked in surprise at his… rather serious expression.

"Inuyasha?" She blinked. "Are you okay?"

"... yeah, I am." Inuyasha nodded. "But, I wanted to let you know something, Manami…"

"..?" Manami raised an eyebrow.

"Your friend. The one you're looking for." Inuyasha spoke, and Manami's smile faded a little. "I made sure to tell an informant of mine about him.

"Informant?" Ed raised a brow at him.

"Yeah," Inuyasha nodded, pointing at him. "He's on your neck."

"Wait, WHAT?!" Ed gasped, instinctively reaching to slap his neck, flattening what appeared to be a bug…

But then, almost comically, the bug popped back into its original shape. It appeared to be a flea yokai.

"Greetings, friends of Lord Inuyasha!" The flea greeted them, hopping from Ed's shoulder to Manami's. "I am Miyoga the flea. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I must say, the blood of that shrimp yokai was most delectable."

"OH THAT DOES IT!" Ed roared, but thankfully Al was right there to hold him back from attacking the flea on Manami's shoulder.

"Brother, stop!" He cried. "Let's hear what he has to say!"

"Ahem," Miyoga cleared his throat. "This friend of yours that you call Kai... I have connections to many yokai informants, who work under the dog demon family, and keep watch for anything of value."

"In other words, we're going to keep an eye out for your friend, as well as that woman that Naraku was talking about." Inuyasha told her. "Plus, I promise the next time I see Naraku, I'll make him talk…"

"It is the least we could do for aiding us and saving our land from those heartless…" Miyoga said, bowing politely.

Inuyasha then turned his head, avoiding Manami's gaze as he continued speaking.

"So... if you ever decide to come back for whatever reason... maybe we'll have some useful information for 'ya."

"..." Manami's smile returned, knowing that that was the warmest of a farewell that she was going to get from him.

"Thank you... that means a lot…" She felt her eyes water again, but she managed to hold them back and compose herself. "I have a feeling we'll be back… and so far, my gut instinct hasn't led me wrong."

Manami then held out her hand, offering it to Inuyasha.

"So, until next time... friend."

"..." Inuyasha looked back at her, raising an eyebrow at her. Manami's smile quickly faded, blinking and wondering if it was still too soon to call him that…

But then, he let out a chuckle, and his clawed hand reached to take Manami's and give it a firm shake. Manami smiled up at him, internally relieved.

* * *

And so, Manami and the Elric brothers waved their final goodbyes to Inuyasha and Kagome before going to the woods, where they would return to their gummi ship and blast off into space.

"So, Manami," Ed spoke up, after they left the atmosphere of Inuyasha's world. "You just saved your first world; how's it feel?"

"..." Manami was looking out the window, watching the planet get smaller and smaller as they left it behind.

Ed was piloting the gummi ship and couldn't look over at Manami, but Al leaned over in his seat to get a better look at her. Did she not hear Ed?

"Manami?"

She flinched, breaking her gaze from the window and blinking as she looked back at Al.

"Oh… sorry…" She chuckled nervously. "What was the question?"

Ed and Al exchanged glances.

"I guess we should ask if you're okay, first…" Ed spoke.

"Y-Yeah…" Manami nodded, forcing a smile. "A little tired, admittedly... but hey, I didn't screw up my first mission!"

"Of course not, you did great!" Ed assured her.

"Brother's right," Al agreed. "And you're just going to keep getting better!"

He paused, getting a good look at Manami's expression. He could tell that a lot was on her mind, namely her disappointment about the fact that they didn't find Kai, or any _specific _leads to his whereabouts for that matter…

"Though... I'm sorry we didn't find any trace of your friend." He said quietly.

"But we didn't leave empty handed." Ed pointed out. "We did learn about a strange woman... if she gave Naraku the heartless, then she more than likely had a connection to those heartless that attacked your world."

"Right!" Al nodded. "If we find her, we'll find Kai! You'll see!"

"Mm…" Manami nodded back to him, her smile a little more genuine now. "Thanks guys…"

There was a pause before she changed the subject.

"... so, can I call dibs on the shower first?"

Ed sighed through his nose, a small smile forming on his lips as he kept his eyes on the controls in front of him.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"Yes!" Manami exclaimed, rising from her seat to walk into the bathroom and close the door behind her.

Ed and Al were quiet for a moment, but Ed's smile faded.

"... something stinks…"

"Don't worry, brother!" Al laughed. "I'll take over the controls and you can shower after Manami—"

"Not _that, _Al." Ed cut him off. "I mean this 'mystery woman.'"

Al blinked, his silence allowing his older brother to continue.

"I can't help but feel that she's no ordinary woman... I mean, having the ability to control heartless is one thing... but giving others that ability?" Ed's eyes narrowed.

"That's new... I don't like it."

"You're right…" Al hummed. "Though that kind of power might only be reserved for those with the darkest hearts. But... considering all the dark hearts that are out there, who knows who else they've passed that power to... "

Ed was quiet for another moment before sighing again. "Well... for now, all we can do is call up Mustang and tell him we completed our mission... then file our report."

"You leave the report to me, brother." Al said. "You know I'm good at pulling all nighters!"

"... heh, yeah." Ed chuckled softly. "Good point."

* * *

After Manami showered and changed into clean clothes, she felt a lot better. She was quick to retire to her bunk, shutting her small curtain after laying down on her back. After a short while of staring up in thought, she pulled out her phone and plugged her earbuds into her ears, then turned onto her side to face the window.

"..."

Between the soft piano melody filling her ears, and the starry space view outside her window, it didn't take long for Manami's eyelids to get heavy.

She only managed to have one more thought cross her mind, before drifting off to sleep.

_" Huh... Ed's right... the view is pretty relaxing…"_


End file.
